Proactive Investors -
- FTSE 100 down 22 points
- Halfords warns of Budget hit
- Compass hikes dividend
8.03am: Compass lifts dividend as profit climbs
Compass Group PLC (LSE:LON:CPG) has hiked its dividend after a surge in profit over the course of the year.
Revenue jumped 10.6% to US$42.2 billion (£33.6 billion), aiding a 16.4% increase in operating profit to just under US$3.0 billion, the food services firm said on Tuesday.
A final dividend of 39.1 cents was declared on the back of the results, taking the total for the year to 59.8 cents and up 13.7% on 2023.
Revenue in North America ticked up 10.9% to US$28.6 and by 15.0% across Europe to US$9.9 billion, but fell elsewhere by 3.7% to US$3.7 billion... Read more
7.42am: Halfords warns of Budget hit as profit drops
Halfords Group PLC (LSE:LON:HFD) has warned of a £23 million surge in costs following last month’s Budget and unveiled a drop in profit for the first half.
Revenue dipped by 1.0% to £864.8 million during the six months to September, or by 0.1% on a like-for-like basis, while reported pre-tax profit fell 23.3% to £17.8 million.
Higher employer national insurance and minimum wages were set to fuel costs next year, it said, meaning inflation inflation “may” be passed through on the company’s managed services.
“The cost implications from the recent UK Budget are particularly acute for a specialist retailer that provides expert advice and assistance to customers,” chief executive Graham Stapleton commented.
“While we will work hard to mitigate these costs, we urge the government to consider alternative ways of supporting businesses like ours.” as a result, Halfords warned.
Uncertainty around the Budget had also caused volatile trading in recent months and left doubt over the latter half of the year, the company said... Read more
7.12am: FTSE 100 set to backtrack
Futures had the FTSE 100 falling back 44 points to 8,272 on Tuesday morning in a reverse of Monday’s 29-point gain.
JD Sports Fashion PLC (LSE:LON:JD.) had led the index higher on Monday, followed by the likes of Entain PLC (LSE:LON:ENT) and airlines as oil prices receded.
Oil remained downtrodden into Tuesday, with benchmark Brent crude trading at US$73.21 a barrel and down from as high as US$74.99 the day before.
Overnight, Asian markets dipped into the red, led by a 0.9% drop for Japan’s Nikkei.
5.00am: Compass amon a string of firms to report
Tuesday brings a string of updates from London-listed companies, before HP and Crowdstrike (NASDAQ:CRWD)'s results from across the Atlantic.
Compass should be in line to exceed expectations, analysts believe... Read more
Announcements due:
Trading updates: Intertek Group PLC (LSE:LON:ITRK), Safestore Holdings (LSE:SAFE) PLC, Seraphim Space Investment Trust, Topps Tiles PLC (LSE:LON:TPT)
Interims: Accsys Technologies (AIM:AXS) PLC, AO World PLC (LSE:LON:AO.), Augmentum Fintech PLC (LSE:AUGM), Brickability Group PLC (AIM:BRCK), Caledonia Investments (LSE:LON:CLDN), Cranswick PLC (LSE:LON:CWK), FD Technologies, Halfords PLC, Helical (LSE:HLCL (LON:HLCL)) PLC, IG Design Group PLC (LON:IGRI) (LSE:IGR), Intercede Group (AIM:IGP) PLC, Kinovo PLC (AIM:KINO, OTC:BILBF), LondonMetric (LON:LMPL) Property PLC (LSE:LMP), Mercia Asset Management (LON:MERCM) PLC (AIM:MERC), Schroder Real Estate Investment Trust (LSE:SREI) Ltd, Sosandar (AIM:SOS) PLC, Supreme PLC (AIM:SUP), Telecom Plus PLC (LSE:LON:TEP), Vp PLC
Finals: Compass Group PLC (LSE:CPG), Essensys, Renew Holdings (AIM:RNWH)
US earnings: CrowdStrike Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:CRWD), HP Inc (NYSE:NYSE:HPQ)
AGMs: Aura Energy (LON:AURA) Limited, CleanTech Lithium PLC (AIM:LON:CTL, OTCQX:CTLHF), Seraphim Space Investment Trust PLC (LSE:SSIT), Tlou Energy Ltd (AIM:TLOU, ASX:TOU, BSE:TLOU), Tungsten West PLC (LON:TUNT) (AIM:TUN, OTC:TNGWF)
Economic announcements: CBI Distributive Trades (UK), Consumer Confidence (US), New Homes Sales (US), Fed Minutes (US)