08:31 , Graeme Evans
Babcock International shares are up 12% within the FTSE 250 index after outcomes by the defence and aerospace engineering agency confirmed one other six months of turnaround progress.
Half-year revenues of £2.4 billion elevated 11% on an natural foundation, pushed by robust development within the Nuclear and Land sectors. Underlying working revenue rose 10% to £168.8 million.
With round 90% of 2025’s anticipated income below contract at 1 October, Babcock stated it began the second half with “good momentum”.
Chief government David Lockwood stated: “Working closely with our customers, we are consistently delivering key programmes and contracts, with enhanced standards of execution.
“Meanwhile, a backdrop of geopolitical instability means demand for what we do continues to increase, resulting in an expanding and attractive long-term opportunity set.
“We are selecting the right opportunities and are being disciplined in how we deploy capital to deliver growth which maximises shareholder value.”
Shares rose 62.8p to 562p.
08:11 , Graeme Evans
Shares in engineering conglomerate Smiths Group have jumped 16% after it upgraded guidance and increased its share buyback programme.
The company, which holds its AGM in London later today, has been boosted by a record order book and strong start to the financial year.
FTSE 100-listed Smiths, which operates four divisions including Smiths Detection, now expects revenue growth in the range of 5-7% compared with the original 4-6% guidance.
It also forecasts a 40-60 basis point expansion in operating profit margin in 2025, placing the company on a good trajectory towards its medium-term margin target.
Smiths has increased its share buyback programme from £100 million to £150 million, having completed the first tranche of £50 million in September.
Organic revenue growth was 15.8% for the three months to 1 November, with “particularly strong” development in Smiths Detection and a “stand-out” efficiency by Smiths Interconnect.
John Crane and the Flex-Tek aerospace business also achieved growth in the period. The company said it benefited from strong trading in the US, which represents around 45% of revenue.
Shares rose 243p to 1765p.
07:49 , Graeme Evans
Experian has improved its full-year guidance alongside interim results showing an 8% rise in benchmark earnings to one billion US dollars (£780 million).
The FTSE 100-listed data and information group lifted its margin outlook towards the upper end of its previous guidance. It continues to see annual revenues growth of between 6% and 8%.
Chief executive Brian Cassin said the company delivered “good growth” in the first six months of the financial year.
He added: “We continue to execute successfully on our growth strategy to introduce new products, deploy advanced analytics and scale our leading platforms.”
07:27 , Graeme Evans
Just Eat Takeaway.com today announced a deal to sell Chicago-based Grubhub, the food delivery business it bought for $7 billion in 2020.
The agreement with Wonder Group gives GrubHub an enterprise value of 650 million US dollars (£510.6 million). The deal is due to complete early 2025.
CEO and founder Jitse Groen said the sale will increase JustEat’s cash generation capabilities and help to accelerate its growth.
In 2023, GrubHub recorded negative cash flow of 77 million euros (£64 million) after handling 237 million orders with a value of eight billion euros (£6.7 billion)
He added: “This deal delivers the right home for Grubhub and its employees.”
07:06 , Graeme Evans
SSE today said chief executive Alistair Phillips-Davies is to step down during 2025 after more than 11 years of leading the renewables firm.
The announcement came alongside interim results, which showed a 26% rise in half-year profits to £714.5 million. Expectations are unchanged for the full year.
Phillips-Davies said: “This is a powerful set of interim outcomes together with supply of higher-quality earnings and the mission-critical infrastructure that exhibits SSE is on the coronary heart of the clear vitality transition.”
07:00 , Graeme Evans
The post-election rally for US markets confirmed indicators of easing final evening after the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.9% decrease.
The S&P 500 index slipped 0.3% to complete under Monday’s document at over 6000 whereas the Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.1%.
Bitcoin is presently at $86610, down from $89,000 earlier this week.
The FTSE 100 index is seen opening eight factors increased at 8034, having fallen 1.2% to a three-month low in yesterday’s session.
