London Stock Exchange Group beats expectations in ‘particularly strong quarter’

BRAVE BOLD BRILLIANT BUSINESS NEWS – 26TH OCTOBER 2024

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GENERAL

London Stock Exchange Group beats expectations in ‘particularly strong quarter’ - In the three months to the end of September, the owner of London’s stock market recorded gross profits of ￡1.92bn, up 8.5% on the same period last year and ahead of the ￡1.9bn expected by the market.?The group recorded growth across its five divisions, with its capital markets revenues rocketing 22% to ￡468m, up from ￡375m last year and ahead of market estimates.?

UK economic forecast boosted by IMF - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has upgraded its projection for UK growth this year by 0.4% to 1.1% - the largest upward revision for any advanced economy.?The IMF's improved view of UK performance is a significant increase on its July projection of 0.7% growth this year, and up by 0.6% from its April assessment.?Its projection of 1.5% of GDP growth in 2025 remains unchanged.

ON?THE?UP

Barclays profit jumps nearly a fifth as investment bank cashes in on dealmaking -?The bank reported a pre-tax profit of ￡2.2bn between July and September, nearly a fifth more than the ￡1.9bn made this time last year.?Barclays said it generated more income than last year, with a 13% increase within its investment banking division amid more dealmaking among global firms and boosted equity trading.?

Dunelm sales up 3.5% to ￡403m in first quarter -?The homewares retailer said the sales uplift was broad-based across its categories, with its sofa collections performing particularly well.?Online sales were especially strong as the retailer continues to improve its digital shopping experience.

Octopus Energy sparks ￡1.5bn profit for UK from Bulb rescue - The energy supplier which rescued rival Bulb after its collapse in 2021 has repaid the final tranche of government support provided to secure the deal, delivering what it will say this week amounted to an unexpected ￡1.5bn profit for taxpayers.?Octopus Energy will announce it has paid more than ￡3bn to the government, including more than ￡40m which has accrued under a profit-share agreement struck between the company and Whitehall two years ago.

Heathrow : Passengers reach record high on summer boom of 30m - It welcomed 30.7m between June and September, a record for the group.?The figures brought the total number of passengers over the first nine months of the year to 63.1m, compared to 59.4m in 2023 – a record.?Adjusted profit before tax also increased at the airport, jumping from a ￡19m loss in the first nine months of 2023 to a ￡350m profit before tax over the last nine months.

Lloyds Banking Group reveals stronger-than-expected profit as consumer confidence picks up - The banking giant reported a pre-tax profit of ￡1.8bn between July and September, about 2% lower than the ￡1.9bn generated this time last year.?It nevertheless came in significantly ahead of the expectations of analysts, who had been anticipating a profit of about ￡1.6bn for the third quarter.

IN THE DOLDRUMS

Striking Boeing workers reject 35% pay rise offer over four years - The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) union said 64% of its members voted against the proposed deal.?More than 30,000 of Boeing's employees have joined the walkout, which started on 13 September, after an initial offer was rejected.

星巴克 in huge shake-up after biggest fall in sales since the pandemic - This has prompted the world’s biggest coffee chain’s new global boss to pledge a “fundamental” change in direction.?Alarming preliminary financial results released in America last night a week ahead of schedule showed comparable store sales falling by 7% in the fourth quarter compared with 2023.?Net revenues were 3% lower at $9.1bn in the three months to September and earnings fell 25%. The shares fell 4%.

德勤 cuts 250 underperforming staff in UK - Big Four firm Deloitte has cut 250 members of staff in the UK, as the firm embarks on yet another round of redundancies as profit stalls.?This move follows last month’s revelation that Deloitte was set to make around 800 redundancies in the UK as demand for its services slows amid a challenging market environment.

Shoezone Retail Limited profit plunges 42% in ‘year of two halves’ - Shoe Zone has posted a decline in both revenue and profit as weak consumer demand and rising costs impact the budget footwear retailer during a revamp of its physical stores.?For the year ending 28 September, revenue fell by 2.7% to ￡161.3m, down from ￡165.7m in the previous year.?Pre-tax profit at the retailer dropped 42% to ￡9.5m, attributed to unseasonably wet weather and year-on-year increases in costs related to energy, depreciation, the National Living Wage, and container prices.

Costa Coffee in the red despite sales success - Costa Coffee fell into the red despite its revenue rising by more than ￡100m in 2023, it has been revealed.?The Buckinghamshire-headquartered business, which is owned by Coca-Cola, has reported a pre-tax loss of ￡9.6m for its latest financial year. Costa Coffee’s revenue increased in the 12 months from ￡1.11bn to ￡1.22bn. The loss comes after the firm posted a pre-tax profit of ￡245.9m in 2022.?

Sky losses double due to World Cup-related expenses - Sky UK ran up an operating loss of ￡224m in 2023, representing a more than 100% increase in losses compared to the previous year.?The broadcaster, which is owned by US cable giant Comcast, reported elevated programming costs of ￡3.5bn attributed to the Qatar World Cup football season.?Sky also recognised an impairment charge of ￡1.2bn due to investments made in its German and Italian operations.?

BrewDog records mounting losses - BrewDog has reported a loss of ￡59.2m before tax for its 2023 financial year, nearly double 2022’s loss of ￡30.5m. In the 12 months to 31 December 2023, the bar chain and brewer generated revenues of ￡354.6m, 10% up on the previous year’s ￡321.2m. However, increasing costs and writing down the value of underperforming bars translated to an operating loss of ￡45.7m, a 90% increase from 2022’s ￡24m.

ONES TO WATCH

Frasers Group ditches ￡111m takeover plans for luxury firm Mulberry England - Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group said it had decided not to make a firm offer ahead of the bid deadline in light of Mulberry’s rejection of its latest sweetened approach and “in the absence of proper engagement from the Mulberry board”.

Buyout firms to table ￡500m bids for Evelyn accountancy arm - A pack of private equity groups are lining up offers for the accountancy firm previously known as Smith & Williamson . Bain Capital and Swiss-based Partners Group are among the buyout firms which have been considering whether to make initial offers for the division of Evelyn Partners ahead of a deadline.?A deal will result in a rebranding of the business, with one banker suggesting that the Smith & Williamson name could be revived.

SHEIN launches credit card as sales growth slows ahead of IPO -?The fast fashion giant has partnered with Mexican fintech Stori to offer points on its website with every purchase and double points on clothing orders.?It comes as Shein’s sales growth is understood to have slowed to 23% in the first half of this year, substantially behind the 40% rise last year.

Barratt Redrow builder outlines growth plans after merger - Created by the merger of homebuilders Barrett and Redrow, the combined group has laid out plans to build 22,000 homes a year in the medium term. That would make it one of the UK’s largest house builders.?In its update, the company said the merger was officially completed on 21 August 2024 after the group reached an agreement with the Competition and Markets Authority.

Government set to bring buy-now pay-later firms under FCA regulation - The Treasury is set to unveil its plans for buy-now pay-later (BNPL) rules in a move that could end years of uncertainty surrounding the regulation of the sector. In a consultation, the government will offer companies like Klarna and Clearpay another chance to feed into the planned regime after a more than three-year wait, people familiar with the matter said.

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