AO World cheers profit growth but sales lower
Shoppers are cutting back spending on non-essential home projects such as new kitchens, the boss of white goods retailer AO World said as it emerged a host of factors have dented sales.
John Roberts said the online company, which has returned to profit despite lower revenue, has seen “household pressures, which many people have” mean some reduction in discretionary spending.
However, he told the Evening Standard: “Distressed purchases, where a buyer needs to replace an essential product that has failed such as a fridge, are not something people cut back on.”
AO World said revenue fell 17% to £1.1 billion in the year to March. A chunk of the decline was due to a series of measures the firm took to cut costs and exit less profitable divisions.
Read more HERE.
FTSE 100 makes broad opening losses
There was a broad fall for the FTSE 100 in opening trade, ahead of economic data due later in the morning that will shed light on the fortunes of the UK’s dominant services sector.
Some of the biggest falls came for real estate trusts, as pressure on property stocks lingered. British Land was the single biggest faller, down 7p at 312p, a drop of around 2%. Segro fell over 12p to 728p, down 1.7%.
Heavily-weighted miners also came under pressure, after a stronger showing earlier in the week lost ground. Anglo American fell 35p to 2296p. Chilean copper giant Antofagasta was down 18p at 1484p.
Only a dozen or so of its constituent were stocks not in retreat as the index lost just over 25 points overall to 7494.57, a decline of 0.3%.
The risers shared defensive properties, led by vaccine and drugmaker AstraZeneca, up 102p, or 1%, to 10672p. BAE Systems was 3p higher at 911p.
The Purchasing Managers’ Index for June, is due at 9.30 a.m. and will help shape the outlook for the UK economy . It is expected to point to a rise in activity by coming in over 50, at 53.7, up from 55.2 last time. There will also be composite PMI data for the whole of the economy, expected to be 52.8, also showing growth, but down from the 54 last time.
AI tech shift is ‘most profound’ seen in our lifetimes, says Google UK boss
The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) marks the “most profound” technology shift in our lifetimes and has the potential to boost Britain’s economy by £400 billion by the end of the decade, according to a report by tech giant Google.
In the firm’s first report on its economic impact in the UK for three years, Google said AI technology – such as the firm’s chatbot Bard and rival Microsoft’s ChatGPT – has the power to “turbocharge” UK productivity, which has been in decline for many years, by helping people back to work and unlocking new ways of working.
Read more here
Redde Northgate: Low supply of vans will continue in medium term
Commercial vehicle rental firm Redde Northgate says demand for vans is still outstripping supply, which helped push profit up by a third to £178.7m.
The business upped its fleet to 130,000 vehicles, but said that there was still a scarcity of light commercial vehicles, which include most types of van. This shortage of supply has boosted residual values.
It added that the lower supply will continue in the medium term.
Martin Ward, CEO of Redde Northgate, said: “This is an excellent set of results and we are proud of what the Group and all our colleagues have achieved this year, delivering record revenue and profits and strong levels of cash generation.
“Our integrated mobility platform has helped to drive growth and offers significant efficiencies for ourselves and customers. Vehicle supply is improving but remains below the high levels of customer demand; our financial strength provides an ability to react quickly to supply opportunities as they arise.”
FTSE 100 set to tick lower with data from service sector in focus
London’s main stock market is expected to continue drifting lower in opening trade, with attention turning to numbers out this morning from the dominant services sector of the economy.
The Purchasing Managers’ Index for last month, due out at 9.30 a.m. will play into expectations for the state of the UK economy and the. outlook for inflation. It is expected to point to a rise in activity by coming in over 50, at 53.7, up from 55.2 last time. There will also be composite PMI data for the whole of the economy, expected to be 52.8, also showing growth, but down from the 54 last time.
Similar data from European economies will come out thoughout the morning, adding to investors impressions on the outlook for growth.
US markets also return to the action, having been closed for the Independence Day break on Tuesday. There are also minutes out tonight from the last interest rate setting meeting from the Federal Reserve.
In the meantime, the FTSE 100 is predicted to ease back by around 5 points to 7514.
Yesterday’s top stories
Good morning, here is a selection of yesterday’s top stories:
Today, we’ll have results from:
- AO World
- Topps Tiles
- Redde Northgate
- Quiz
- Supreme Plc
