MARKET REPORT: Russian Sanctions Breach Drives Payment Firm Wise Into The Red
Payments company Wise fell into the red yesterday after breaking UK laws imposed on Russia by allowing a sanctioned person to withdraw £250 last year.
The money was withdrawn from a business account maintained at Wise in June 2022 and from a debit card issued in the name of the person who had been added to the sanctions list a day earlier. The person has not been named.
A report by the Treasury’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) said the problem, which the London-listed group noted in July, was “moderately serious”.
Wise’s policy at the time allowed a customer, possibly matching the profile of someone on the sanctions list, to continue to have access to their debit card given high “false positive” rates.
“OFSI does not consider the violation serious enough to impose a monetary penalty on Wise,” it said in a statement.
Breach: Payment company Wise was found to have breached UK laws imposed on Russia by allowing a sanctioned person to withdraw £250 last year.
However, the nature and circumstances of this violation were assessed as moderately serious and a disclosure is the appropriate and proportionate enforcement response.’
Wise closed all accounts with addresses registered in Russia in May last year, according to its website. Its shares fell 0.5 percent, or 3 pence, to 640.2 pence.
The London stock market ended the last trading session of the week with the FTSE 100 falling 0.46 percent, or 34.54 points, to 7,439.13 and the FTSE 250 rising 0.22 percent, or 41.18 points, at 18,605.17.
The front-line index fell nearly 3 percent in August amid concerns about rising interest rates, rising inflation and the health of China’s economy. IT group Kainos profited from clients who invested in digital projects.
As a result, it expects to meet market forecasts for its financial year to the end of March 2024. Its share price fell 1 per cent, or 12 pence, to 1,215 pence.
Grafton remained optimistic about his prospects even as the cost of doing business has skyrocketed and households are cutting spending to renovate their homes amid rising prices and interest rates.
The group, which owns building materials supplier Selco, saw profit fall 29.3 percent to £93.6 million in the first six months of this year, while revenue rose 3.2 percent. to £1.19 billion.
Stock Surveillance – Sondrel
Sondrel fell to a record low after the chip designer and supplier warned that revenue would be much lower than expected.
Scheduled production dates for three projects have been pushed back six to 12 months amid rising inflation and weaker demand.
Revenue from the projects has been pushed back to 2024. Sondrel now expects to make at least £13m of revenue this year, below market forecasts. The shares, which traded at 55 pence in October 2022, fell 61.8 per cent, or 34.6 pence, to 21.4 pence.
Chief Eric Born said the results “supported a resilient performance in the face of challenging conditions during the first half.”
Grafton also launched a £50 million share buyback programme.
The shares rose 0.8 percent, or 7.1 pence, to 862.5 pence.
DiscoverIE, the manufacturer of custom electronics, has completed the acquisition of Newport-based Silvertel for £21 million.
The deal was announced on August 1 and will see the newly acquired company, which makes parts that improve the efficiency of battery chargers, become part of its controls and magnetics division.
City broker Peel Hunt reiterated his “buy” rating as Discoverie’s shares “look excellent” ahead of the company’s next trading update in October.
As a result, the shares added 1.1 percent, or 8 pence, to 730 pence.
Mike Ashley’s retail empire tightened its grip on Boohoo after the Frasers Group, which owns Sports Direct, Jack Wills and Flannels, increased its stake in the fashion brand to 9.1 percent from 7.8 percent.
Boohoo gained 7.5 percent, or 2.49 pence, to 35.65 pence, while Frasers Group rose 1.3 percent, or 10 pence, to 806.5 pence.
Harland & Wolff, the Belfast shipyard that built the Titanic, rose 17 percent, or 2.5 pence, to 17.25 pence after the company won a key legal ruling over its gas storage project in Ireland.
