FTSE 100 Falls as NatWest Drops After Quarterly Results

The FTSE 100 drops 0.3% to 7229 points with NatWest the biggest faller even after the U.K. bank posted third-quarter profit ahead of forecasts. "NatWest share price has been a notable outperformer so far this year, its shares up over 35%, and at 20-month highs, so the bar was quite high for today's Q3 numbers," CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson says. Profits attributable to shareholders were well ahead of last year but were almost half the second quarter's level, while the net interest margin--a key measure of profitability--fell compared to the previous quarter, he says. NatWest shares fall 5.3%.

Companies News: 

Lamprell Raised $30.1 Mln via Discounted Share Placing

Lamprell PLC said Friday that it has raised $30.1 million via an oversubscribed discounted share placing.

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ConvaTec Group 3Q Revenue Rose at Slower Pace Than 2Q; Sees Further FY Growth

ConvaTec Group PLC said Friday that revenue grew at a slower pace in the third quarter when compared with the previous quarter, and said that it now expects organic revenue growth to be toward the upper end of its guidance.

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Harwood Capital Says It Is No Longer Considering Takeover for GYG

Harwood Capital LLP said Friday that it is no longer considering an offer for yacht-maintenance company GYG PLC and that talks between the two parties have now ended.

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Computacenter 3Q Slightly Beat Management Views; Backs 2021 Guidance

Computacenter PLC said Friday that its third quarter finished slightly above its expectations, and it backed its full-year guidance for record revenue, profits and earnings per share.

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NatWest 3Q Pretax Profit More Than Tripled, Beating Market Views -- Update

NatWest Group PLC on Friday reported a more-than-tripled pretax profit for the third quarter, which came in ahead of market views, and said that its guidance for 2021 remains unchanged.

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Condor Gold Raised GBP4.1 Mln in Placing for Feasibility Study, New Mill

Condor Gold PLC said Friday that it has raised 4.1 million pounds ($5.7 million) through a private placement of shares, to pay for a feasibility study and the balance of a new mill.

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Plus500 Board Approves Additional Buyback of Shares

Plus500 Ltd. said Friday that it will acquire an additional $12.6 million of its own issued share capital as part of its share buyback program.

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SysGroup Expects 1H 2022 Revenue, Adjusted Ebitda Fall

SysGroup PLC said Friday that it expects revenue and adjusted Ebitda to fall for the first half of fiscal 2022, and that the long-term outlook for the business and its market remains very positive.

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Panthera Resources to Acquire Indian JV Partner for $1.4 Mln

Panthera Resources PLC said Friday that it will acquire its Indian joint-venture partner, Metal Mining India Private Ltd., or MMI, for 1.8 million Australian dollars ($1.4 million).

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Serica Energy Downgrades FY Net Production on Delay of Columbus Field Production

Serica Energy PLC said Friday that its full-year net production is expected to be slightly lower than guided due to delays affecting its Columbus field, located in the U.K.'s North Sea.

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Scancell FY 2021 Pretax Loss Widened on Increased Expenses

Scancell Holdings PLC said Friday its fiscal 2021 pretax loss widened significantly on increased administrative and development expenses, higher interest and finance expenses.

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Nostrum Oil & Gas 9-Month Revenue Rose; Shares Rise

Nostrum Oil & Gas PLC shares rose Friday after it said that it expects revenue for the first nine months of 2021 to be higher on year, despite a fall in production.

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Limitless Earth Reports Widened 1H Net Loss

Limitless Earth PLC on Friday reported a widened net loss for the first half of the fiscal year.

Market Talk: 

NatWest's 3Q Contracted Net Interest Margin Likely to Get Investors' Attention

0752 GMT - Investors' focus in relation to NatWest Group's third-quarter results will likely be its on-quarter net interest margin contraction, Jefferies says. The FTSE 100-listed bank is a rate-sensitive lender, with a common equity Tier 1 ratio--a key measure of balance-sheet strength--of 18.7%, Jefferies says, noting that the bank has an endowment problem of having too much capital. "The investment case therefore relies on repatriating this capital and the bank realizing higher net interest income via rates," Jefferies says. Shares are down 5.4% at 219.00 pence.

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NatWest's Share Price Falls Despite Stronger-Than-Expected Profits

0747 GMT - The market reaction to NatWest's results for 3Q has been a little underwhelming, with the shares dropping to the bottom of the FTSE 100 index, Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK, says. The lender's pretax profit, net profit and revenue came in ahead of market expectations, but net profit was still almost half the level it reached in 2Q, Hewson says. "Having seen decent numbers from Lloyds and Barclays, expectations were high for NatWest Group's third-quarter numbers today," Hewson says. The fact that the bank booked a charge of GBP294 million after pleading guilty to money-laundering charges didn't help to boost sentiment, he says. Shares are down 5.4% at 219.00 pence.

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Glencore's 2021 Marketing Guidance Upgrade Was Expected by the Market

0700 GMT - Glencore said it expects adjusted EBIT from its marketing business to exceed the top end of the $2.2 billion-$3.2 billion long-term guidance range in 2021. This is positive, but also expected following a strong performance in the first half and as commodity markets remained tight in the second half, RBC Capital Markets says. The market consensus for Glencore's 2021 marketing EBIT is $3.5 billion, RBC notes. As for production, third-quarter figures were slightly weaker, but annual guidance ranges have been reaffirmed, the bank says. The most notable miss was nickel, which was 18% below RBC's forecasts. "We continue to see Glencore in a favorable position versus peers."

Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires; Write to Sarka Halas at sarka.halas@wsj.com