UK economy to grow twice as fast as expected says KPMG

BRAVE BOLD BRILLIANT BUSINESS NEWS – 28th SEPTEMBER 2024

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GENERAL

UK economy to grow twice as fast as expected says KPMG - Latest forecasts suggest the economy is on track to grow 1.0% this year before accelerating slightly to 1.2% next year. The Big Four firm’s predictions are a slight upgrade on July’s projections of 0.5% for 2024 and 0.9% for 2025, reflecting the UK’s stronger than expected growth in the first half of this year.

National debt at 100% of GDP for first time since 1960s - The UK's public sector debt has hit 100% of the value of the country's annual economic output for the first time since the 1960s, according to official figures released ahead of the chancellor's maiden budget.?The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, in a preliminary estimate, that the figure had risen from the 99.3% figure recorded the previous month.

ON?THE?UP?

TUI reconfirms projection to achieve at least a 25% hike in annual profits - A positive booking momentum and strong close to summer trading has left TUI Group “well positioned” to achieve at least a 25% hike in annual profits from €977m achieved last year. Summer bookings remain 6% up year-on-year with 1.4m more taken since the company’s last update on August 14 to give a total of 14.7m for the season. TUI said: “at 97%, virtually all of the programme has now been sold, which is 1% ahead of summer 2023.?

Flutter Entertainment unveils buyback plan and eyes profit jump by 2027 - Flutter Entertainment plc announced a $5bn share buyback and said it is targeting doubling annual profit by 2027. Flutter shares shot up 7.6% to 18,400.00 pence each in London. The bookmaker, with brands including Paddy Power and Sky Bet in its stable, delivered the guidance ahead of an investor event.

ON THE BEACH LIMITED hails record booking haul after summer travel boom - The Manchester-based firm hauled in ￡1.2bn from holiday bookings in the 12 months ending 30 September, a 15% jump compared to last year and its best-ever total. On the Beach told markets the performance had been “underpinned” by 13% volume growth over the peak summer trading period. Adjusted pre-tax profit fell in line with market expectations, coming in at ￡31m.

Travel Counsellors top ￡1bn in sales for first time - The company is the UK’s largest and fastest-growing technology platform for travel entrepreneurs and has seen a surge in demand for trips abroad. CEO Steve Byrne will be speaking about hitting the landmark at BusinessCloud’s FUEL Manchester event on October 16th.?

Revolut the Fintech giant hits 10m UK customers as aggressive growth strategy pays off -?The company, which has recorded rapid growth over the past few years, added nearly 2m customers in 2024 alone.?The achievement follows several high-profile developments for Revolut, including its recent secondary share sale, which valued the company at $45bn, and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) ‘s July granting of a UK banking licence with restrictions.

Viking River Cruises record UK profit as sales recover to Pre-Covid level -?The London-headquartered division has reported a revenue of ￡119.9m for 2023, up from the ￡94m it achieved in 2022.?The last time Viking River Cruises achieved a higher revenue figure was the ￡129.6m it achieved in 2019.

IN THE DOLDRUMS

Beaverbrooks reports falling profits as store investment costs add up - Jeweller Beaverbrooks has recorded a loss in profits due to increased operating costs and levels of long-term investment. For the financial year ending February 2024, Beaverbrooks has reported a ￡15.2m drop in operating profits and a ￡3.6m rise in sales.?

Quorn Foods parent company suffers ￡63m loss as plant-based bubble bursts - Marlow Foods sank deeper into the red during the last financial year, as sales fell by 6.9% to hit ￡205m, which led to almost 100 jobs being shed as part of a restructuring programme.?It comes amid a broader slump in the popularity of veganism across the UK, as costly plant-based products fall increasingly out of favour among hard-up shoppers. Quorn’s sales across retailers fell by 8.6% in the 12 months to December 2023.

Everyman Media loss widens as Hollywood strikes delay blockbusters - Everyman Media Group plc reported a widened loss due to the recent writers and actors strikes and rising administration costs, despite soaring admissions sales in the first half of 2024. The London-based premium cinema group said pretax loss widened to ￡4.9m in the 26 weeks that ended June 27 from ￡4.3m a year before.

DFS Furniture slumps to a loss in ‘extremely challenging’ environment - The firm reported a loss before tax of ￡1.7m in the year to June, swung from a ￡29.7m profit last year. DFS said this was due to “record low market demand and Red Sea shipping disruption” which had deferred sales. Revenue from continuing operations fell by 9.3% to ￡987.1m in the year to June.

Dulux maker AkzoNobel to cut 2,000 jobs - The paint giant behind Dulux is to cut about 2,000 jobs in a bid to slash costs. AkzoNobel announced that it plans to complete a raft of redundancies by the end of 2025 to make its operations more efficient. The Dutch group, which has operations in 150 countries including the UK, said it will “streamline” its management structure through the cuts. The move will impact more than 5% of its 35,700 global employees.

HUGO BOSS profit slashed in ‘year of investment’ as sales dip from record high - Profit at the UK arm of Hugo Boss was slashed by almost 50% in a “year of investment” as its sales fell back from a record high, it has been revealed. The London-headquartered arm has reported a pre-tax profit of ￡16.8m for 2023 down from ￡30.4m in 2022. Its turnover also dipped from ￡402.4m to ￡391.6m over the same period. The division’s wholesale turnover fell from ￡143.7m to ￡131.5m in the year while its retail sales dipped from ￡206.9m to ￡204.2m. Its online turnover also went from ￡55.7m to ￡￡55.9m.

Thames Water seeks extension to debt terms to avoid nationalisation - Thames Water is going to the High Court in November to negotiate an extension to its debt terms so that the UK’s biggest water utility can avoid nationalisation next year. The capital’s water and sewerage provider, which serves 16m households, is struggling with the weight of higher interest payments on its ￡18bn debt pile. It has said it will run out of cash by May unless investors inject equity into the business, meaning it may need to be renationalised even if temporarily.

ONES TO WATCH

Wizz Air : Huge shareholder revolt over plans to hand boss bumper bonus - The airline is looking to give Jozsef Váradi a restricted share award which would represent 300% of his ￡710,534 salary. The listed company has argued that Váradi’s compensation doesn’t reflect a unique “parade of black swan” events faced by Wizz Air. Wizz Air has also set out plans for a further share-based reward ?which would amount to 500% of his salary in 2026.

Rightmove shuns ‘unattractive’ ￡6.1bn offer from REA saying it still undervalues the company - Rupert Murdoch-owned REA sweetened its offer for the British property portal, just days after it had raised it for the second time to ￡5.9bn. Rightmove said it had considered the improved offer and concluded that it “continues to be unattractive and materially undervalues the company and its future prospects”. The board unanimously rejected the bid on 24 September 2024.

JCB issues warning despite sales hitting ￡6.5bn and profit surge amid housebuilding struggles -?JCB?which is one of the world’s largest construction equipment manufacturers, said turnover rose by 14% to ￡6.5bn in 2023 as demand for its machines increased despite “challenging” market conditions in Europe. The group also reported a steep 44.5% rise in annual pre-tax profit to ￡805.8m. Some 123,228 machines rolled off the group’s assembly lines, up from 105,148 the year prior.

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