Vodafone in 'active discussions' over Italian business despite rejecting £9bn merger (DANIEL LEAL via Getty Images)

Vodafone (VOD.L)

Vodafone has said it is in talks to sell its Italian business days after it emerged it had rejected an offer by billionaire telecoms tycoon Xavier Niel to merge their Italian operations in a €10.5bn (£9bn) deal.

Chief executive Margherita Della Valle said the company is “in active discussions in Italy” after last week shunning Niel’s Iliad Group, which had tabled a proposal to combine their Italian businesses.

In a trading update, Vodafone revealed revenues slipped by 2.3% in the third quarter to €11.3bn (£9.7bn), although organic service revenue grew 4.7%, ahead of analyst estimates of 4.3%.

It said it remains on track for an underlying annual profit of €13.3bn (£11.4bn).

Matt Britzman, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Vodafone’s third quarter had some pockets of optimism for investors to cling to. Growth was in line with the second quarter, arguably a better result than some had feared.

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"The key German market managed to scrape its way into growth territory but saw a slowdown. Comparisons to the second quarter were always going to be tough, with some non-recurring revenue streams not repeating. Regulatory changes in Germany are set to kick in this year, adding a layer of uncertainty to operations in the region."

Shares in Vodafone dropped over 1% at the start of trading, to the bottom of the FTSE 100 (^FTSE) leaderboard, but have since recovered slightly.

Llloyds (LLOY.L)

Shares in Lloyds Banking Group dropped after the Financial Times reported that Iran used the lender to covertly move money around the world.

Lloyds and Santander UK (BNC.L) provided accounts to British front companies secretly owned by a sanctioned Iranian petrochemicals company based near Buckingham Palace, according to the FT.

Documents analysed by the FT show that since being placed under US sanctions PCC has used companies in the UK to receive funds from Iranian front entities in China while concealing their real ownership through “trustee agreements” and nominee directors.



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One of these companies, called Pisco UK, is registered to a detached house in Surrey and used a business account with Santander UK.

Another PCC front company in the UK is Aria Associates, which has an account with Lloyds.

UniCredit (UCG.MI)

UniCredit shares hit an eight-year high on Monday after the bank said it would return its entire 2023 profit pool of €8.6bn to investors.

The Milan-based bank shared details of the planned payout after reporting fourth-quarter profits of €1.9bn, almost three times analysts’ expectations.

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For 2024, the bank expects to increase shareholder distributions to €10bn, including through the introduction of an interim dividend. The final split between dividends and buybacks will depend on market conditions, it said.

Boeing (BA)

Shares in Boeing were lower in premarket trading as the airplane manufacturer discovered new problems with its 737 MAX fuselages and will have to delay delivery of 50 planes to work on them.

According to the Wall Street Journal, a supplier of 737 Max aircraft components discovered misdrilled holes on the fuselages of 50 planes that were in production for the aircraft company.

An employee of Spirit AeroSystems, which creates the fuselage, nacelles, and struts for various Boeing aircraft, alerted their manager to the inaccurate drill holes while the 737 Max planes were making their way through the production process, according to the report.

Separately, Tim Clark, the head of Emirates Airline, said that Boeing’s quality standards have slowly declined for years. In an interview with the Financial Times, Clark said that it was imperative for Boeing to establish a “safety culture that is second to none.” This is the “last chance saloon,” he said.

Boeing shares are down 20% this year.

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