Pound's Gains Seen Held Back by UK Supply Chain Issues, Inflation Fears

0745 GMT - Sterling's gains on speculation about an imminent U.K. interest-rate rise are expected to be limited, reflecting concerns about the nation's particularly severe supply chain issues, labor shortages and high inflation, Commerzbank says. Many of the supply shortages that the world is experiencing reflect pent-up demand in the wake of coronavirus so are expected to be temporary but this view doesn't apply to the U.K. due to Brexit, Commerzbank's Ulrich Leuchtmann says. The U.K. also faces further political and economic risks from its stubborn position in post-Brexit negotiations, he says. "Those make a stronger sterling impossible, despite rapid Bank of England rate hikes." GBP/USD rises 0.3% to a two-week high of 1.3700, according to FactSet. EUR/GBP falls 0.2% to 0.8473. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)

Companies News: 

Dunelm Backs Profit Guidance on 1Q Sales Rise Despite Supply-Chain Disruption

Dunelm Group PLC on Thursday said sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2022 increased and that it expects full-year pretax profit to be in line with market expectations.

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Ashmore Group 1Q Assets Under Management Fell

Ashmore Group PLC said Thursday that assets under management for the first quarter of fiscal 2022 declined by $3.1 billion due to a negative investment performance of $2.1 billion and net outflows of $1.0 billion.

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Rank Group PLC Says 1Q Was in Line, Net Gaming Revenue Jumped

Rank Group PLC said Thursday that the first quarter was in line with its expectations, with a strong increase in like-for-like net gaming revenue, and that it expects full-year revenue to rise.

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Hays 1H Net Fees Rose 36%

Hays PLC said Thursday that its net fees grew 36% in the first quarter of the fiscal year, which ended on Sept. 30.

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Rathbone Brothers Funds Under Management and Administration Rose 11% in 9-Mos

Rathbone Brothers PLC said Thursday that its funds under management and administration increased 11% in the first nine months of 2021, with positive net organic inflows in the third quarter.

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Grainger FY 2021 Rental Growth Rose, Occupancy Rate Recovers

Grainger PLC said Thursday that it recorded total like-for-like rental growth of 1.0% in fiscal 2021 and its occupancy rate has recovered to pre-coronavirus pandemic levels.

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Domino's Pizza Group 3Q Comparable Sales Were Up 8.8%, Expects to Meet 2021 Views

Domino's Pizza Group PLC said Thursday that like-for-like sales for the third quarter of the year rose 8.8% and that it expects to meet full-year expectations.

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Braemar Shipping Raises FY 2022 Underlying Earnings Guidance

Braemar Shipping Services PLC said Thursday that it expects its underlying earnings for fiscal 2022 to be ahead of previous expectations after a strong first-half performance.

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QinetiQ's Says Technical, Supply Chain Issues Could Result in Lowered Guidance

QinetiQ Group PLC said on Thursday that it was experiencing technical and supply chain issues on a large program, and that if this remained unmitigated it could result in a one-off writedown to its short-term guidance.

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Charles Stanley Group Funds Under Management and Administration Edged Up 1.1% in 2Q

Charles Stanley Group PLC said Thursday that its funds under management and administration increased 1.1% in the second quarter of the fiscal year.

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DiscoverIE Says 1H Performance Was Better Than Expected

DiscoverIE Group PLC said Thursday that its performance for the first half of the financial year was ahead of internal expectations.

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National Express 3Q Revenue Rose to 83% of Pre-Pandemic Levels

National Express Group PLC said Thursday that third-quarter revenue reached 83% of the same period's in 2019 on a constant-currency basis, compared with second-quarter revenue reaching 76% of pre-pandemic levels, and backed its underlying pretax profit expectations for 2021.

Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires; Dow Jones Newswires; paul.larkins@wsj.com