Bouygues falls as unit Colas scraps 2023 margin target

COLAS SA

17/11/2022 08:49

** Shares in Bouygues  BOUY.PA  fall about 4%, among worst
performers on France's blue-chip CAC 40 index  .FCHI , after the
French conglomerate's construction unit Colas  COLP.PA  scrapped
2023 margin target citing the uncertain macro environment
    ** Colas says it is replacing its initial target of 4%
current operating margin for 2023 with a new outlook of increase
in next year's current operating profit compared to 2022
    ** Credit Suisse says the dropped Colas margin outlook is a
negative, but adds it isn't a huge surprise 
    ** Bouygues 9-month sales of 29.7 billion euros ($30.82
billion) came slightly above the 29.3 bln forecast in a
company-compiled consensus
    ** "We doubt consensus will extrapolate the Q3 beat," says
J.P.Morgan, adding consensus will likely lower mid-term margin
expectations for Colas given the new outlook
    ** Bouygues confirms full-year targets 
    ** The Bouygues shares, down about 7% YTD, are heading for
their worst day since mid-September; Colas is down about 0.4%
($1 = 0.9638 euros)
 (Reporting by Olivier Sorgho)
 ((Olivier.Sorgho@thomsonreuters.com))