- FTSE 100 closes 44 points up
- Eurozone inflation falls more than expected
- Dr Martens sinks on margin warning
4.55pm: FTSE 100 ends on the front foot
The FTSE 100 finished the first trading day of June on a positive note, closing 0.6% up at 7,490 as a rebound in copper prices helped to support the miners.
"European markets have undergone a slow start to the month after yesterday’s sell-off, as attention switches away from the US debt ceiling, and towards the broader economic outlook, and increasing evidence that inflation is slowing sharply," commented CMC Markets' Michael Hewson.
By the UK close, US stocks were also up, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 0.5% to 33,073, the S&P 500 gaining 0.8% to 4,212 and the Nasdaq jumping 0.9% to 13,056.
3.53pm: Sharon White exits Barratt
John Lewis Partnership’s chair, Sharon White, will be stepping down from her role as a non-executive at Barratt Developments on 30 June 2023.
Her departure from the housebuilder’s board comes a week after chair John Allan stepped down over allegations of improper conduct while he was chair at Tesco.
White joined as a non-executive director on 1 January 2018, two years prior to taking the role of chair of John Lewis.
Her tenure at the retailer, which also encompasses Waitrose, hasn’t been without turbulence.
The group reported a loss of £234mln in the last financial year, abandoned bonuses to its employees and even flirted with the idea of moving away from its staff-ownership model.
The staff took a vote on her leadership and decided she was still the best person to lead the company, although they were clear they didn't agree with all her past decisions.
White, who previously held the position of CEO at Ofcom, has been tipped by some corners of The City to be in contention for the role of chair at the BBC when Richard Sharp steps down at the end of this month.
Last month, The Telegraph tipped her as one of the potential candidates for the BBC's top job.
Sharp decided to resign from the broadcaster after he was found to have broken impartiality rules.
Another role that may soon also become available is CEO of ITV.
Carolyn McCall is facing intense scrutiny following the Phillip Schofield scandal, which could have huge ramifications for ITV’s advertising revenue and viewership.
FTSE 100 looks set to end the session in positive territory, up 44 points to 7,491.
3.10pm: Skipton's mouth-watering interest rates
Skipton Building Society is now offering savers 7.5% interest on regular savings accounts, the highest on this type of account for nearly a decade.
To access the account, you need to be an existing Skipton savings and/or mortgage customer.
The 7.5% interest rate is fixed for one year and will be paid in a lump sum when the account matures.
At that point, the balance will be automatically moved into a Skipton easy-access account.
Customers over the year can deposit the equivalent of £250 a month for a year, meaning by the time the account closes, a saver would make £121.
But where does Skipton rank next to some other lender’s interest rates?
Based on interest earned on £3,000 in savings after one year, Tandem Bank’s one-year fixed account would pay out £154, while Barclay’s ‘Rainy Day’ easy-access would offer a return of £153.
However, Skipton offers a greater return than Halifax’s regular saver, which would pay out £89 on £3,000 worth of savings after one year.
2.25pm: OPEC unlikely to cut supply further
OPEC and its allies are unlikely to deepen supply cuts on Sunday, despite a fall in oil prices to US$70 per barrel, according to sources cited by Reuters.
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries pumps around 40% of the world’s crude and 60% of the world’s supplies.
Any decision the oil cartel makes, therefore, has a huge impact on prices.
In April, OPEC+ pledged cuts starting from May until the end of the year, a move which helped drive benchmark Brent crude prices by around US$9 per barrel to US$87.
Brent has since shed those gains, trading at US$72 per barrel.
Last week, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman told investors he said were shorting the oil price to "watch out," which many market watchers interpreted as a warning of additional supply cuts.
But Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak subsequently said he did not expect any new steps from OPEC+ in Vienna, Russian media reported.
"At this precise time, no change for the meeting but as usual, depending on the mood of some, everything can change," one OPEC+ source said. This view was echoed by three other sources, all of whom asked not to be named.
2pm: Nvidia 'perfectly safe' in Taiwan
CEO of Nvidia, the chipmaker which recently broke the US$1tn market cap, said he feels “perfectly safe” about relying on chips manufactured in Taiwan.
Some chip manufacturers have raised concerns about risks to their business, given China seems to be flexing its military muscles against the democratic island.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, which makes chips designed by Nvidia, will make the next generation of Nvidia’s chips, CEO Jensen Huang said, adding the US-listed company would also look to diversify.
"When I was here, in all of our supply chain discussions, we feel perfectly safe," Huang told reporters at a technology event in Taipei when asked about the political risk of the world relying so much on Taiwan for chips given the China tensions.
1.30pm: London's movers
Let’s look at some of today’s movers in London.
Risers
Westminster Group- up 36% to 1.57p
Shares rallied as the security specialist accompanied a 35% jump in revenues over the past year with a bullish forecast for the coming twelve months.
All its businesses improved, said the Aim-listed group, which broke even after heavy losses the year previously, though aviation training, its West African airport contract and manned guarding in the UK were picked out as highlights.
ME Group- up 9% to 150p
ME Group, formerly Photo-Me, revised up its revenue and profit guidance for the current year following a robust set of first half results.
The company, which operates, sells and services instant-service vending equipment such as photobooths, printing kiosks, launderettes and food vending machines, said revenue surged over 24% and pre-tax profit soared 35% in the six months to 31 April 2022, with all key businesses and markets performing strongly.
Fallers
Dr Martens- down 9% to 141.6p
Dr Martens shares got the boot as the company warned of lower margins in the year ahead alongside a 26% decline in annual pre-tax profit.
Susannah Streeter at Hargreaves Lansdown said: "Yet another downgrade was the last update investors wanted to see, but the company has lowered its guidance for pre-tax profits for the coming year and highlighted that recovery in 2025 isn’t going to be as strong as forecast."
FTSE 100 was up 36 points to 7,438.
1.01pm: Subdued start seen in the US
Wall Street is likely to open flat to higher after the US House of Representatives passed a bill to raise the debt ceiling above the current $31.4 trillion, shifting the focus to employment data today and tomorrow that will be instrumental in the Federal Reserve’s rates decision this month.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were steady in Wednesday pre-market trading, while those for the broader S&P 500 index gained 0.2% and contracts for the Nasdaq-100 added 0.1%.
After the House voted 314 to 117 in favor of the bill on Thursday, the Senate has until the June 5 deadline to enact the legislation and get President Joe Biden’s signature before the federal government runs out of cash.
The main US indexes were lower at Wednesday’s close as growth concerns outweighed optimism about the debt deal due to weak economic data from China and after the Chicago PMI missed expectations by a mile. The DJIA lost 0.4% to 32,908, the S&P 500 finished 0.6% lower at 4,180 and the Nasdaq also slipped 0.6% to end the day at 12,935 points.
“Stock markets are finding some relief after the US debt limit deal was approved by the House, with the Senate’s vote now set to be a formality,” commented Han Tan, chief market analyst at Exinity Group.
“Still, risk appetite appears to be muted after the mixed signals this week surrounding China’s recovery, as well as the dwindling prospects of Fed rate cuts later this year.
Apart from the release of the ADP employment report today, Tan said the monthly non-farm payroll (NFP) numbers tomorrow and upcoming consumer price index (CPI) data will hold sway over the Fed’s next interest rate moves.
“If hiring momentum in the US jobs market softens meaningfully that should allow the Fed to pause its aggressive rate hikes. Such hopes should carve out more breathing space for the likes of equities and gold,” Tan said.
“However, risk assets are likely to face a tough time sustaining a relief rally until US interest rates have well and truly reached their peak, despite recent Fed speak suggesting a June pause," he added. "Markets remain cognizant that a recession still looms large on the horizon, with such prospects likely to cap the upside in stocks in the interim.”
12.38pm: Whitbread rises as Deutsche lifts price target
Whitbread PLC (LSE:WTB) jumped after Deutsche Bank increased its price target and raised expectations for the next three years.
The investment bank expects the owner of Premier Inn to deliver a first quarter trading update in June with double-digit RevPAR growth - Deutsche forecasts like-for-like growth of more than 12%.
"In light of these encouraging operating trends, and given our expectation for consensus improvement (both in terms of revenues and upcoming results), we raise our expectations for FY24-26," the broker said.
Deutsche said its new financial year 2024 pre-tax profit assumptions are 11% higher than its previous estimates and largely ahead of consensus.
The broker also noted reports that Whitbread was exploring the possibility of a disposal of the Beefeater and Brewers Fayre brands, given their underperformance.
Deutsche estimated the two brands could be fetch up to £350mln.
"If such a disposal were completed, we would view it as positive, as: i) it would refocus Whitbread on more profitable core assets, and ii) it would allow the group to cash in a certain amount of money," it said.
"This would allow the group to be even more capable of accelerating growth and/or returning some cash to shareholders," Deutsche explained.
Deutsche has a buy rating on Whitbread and raised its price target from 3780p to 3990p. Shares rose 1.4% to 3,328p.
12.15am: Private sector falls in May, according to CBI
The CBI’s latest Growth Indicator showed that private sector activity continued to fall in the three months to May, broadly matching the pace of decline seen in recent months. Looking ahead, activity is expected to mount a modest recovery over the next quarter.
May’s CBI Growth Indicator found that business & professional services are expected to lead the recovery with a firm upswing in activity, while consumer services and distribution sales look set to stabilise. Manufacturing output is expected to fall at a slower pace once again.
11.35am: Manufacturing downturn deepens in May
The manufacturing downturn deepened in May, as rates of contraction in output, new orders and employment all accelerated, figures showed.
The seasonally adjusted S&P Global / CIPS UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to a four-month low of 47.1 in May, down from 47.8 in April but above the flash estimate of 46.9.
The #UK manufacturing downturn deepened in May (#PMI at 47.1; Apr: 47.8) amid an acceleration in the rates of decline for output, new orders and employment. Elsewhere, input prices fell for the first time in three-and-a-half years. Read more: https://t.co/bbhvjTwLfQ @cipsnews pic.twitter.com/6JXnB3WBYd
— S&P Global PMI™ (@SPGlobalPMI) June 1, 2023
All of the PMI components (output, new orders, employment, stocks of purchases and supplier lead times) signalled a deterioration in operating performance.
Manufacturers were hit by weak domestic market sentiment, lower new export order intakes and client destocking, which offset the tapering benefits from improving supply chains, the survey showed.
There was better news on the costs front, however, with average input prices falling for the first time in three-and-a-half years.
Output levels were also impacted by the extra bank holiday.
Rob Dobson, Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: "Manufacturers are finding that any potential boost to production from improving supply chains is being completely negated by weak demand, client destocking and a general shift in spending in the UK away from goods to services."
"These factors are also driving a broad decrease in demand from overseas amid reports of lost orders from the US and mainland Europe."
"The retrenchment in export demand is also being exacerbated by some EU clients switching to more local sourcing to avoid post-Brexit trade complications," he added.
The FTSE 100 is now up 31 points.
11.03am: Diageo faces racism claims from US rapper, Sean Combs
Diageo PLC (LSE:DGE) is being sued by the American rapper, actor and record producer, Sean Combs, better known as Puff Daddy, P Diddy and Diddy.
Combs has accused the spirits maker of breaking the terms of their business partnership and neglecting the tequila brand they had bought together, saying the company had done so because he is black.
The lawsuit comes after years of partnership between the spirits company that owns Johnnie Walker, Guinness and Tanqueray and Combs, 53, with their joint DeLeón tequila brand.
The court filing alleges that Diageo has poured resources into two other tequilas, including Casamigos, a brand backed by George Clooney, the actor, that Diageo agreed to buy in 2017 for up to $1bn.
Combs said Diageo had limited the drink’s distribution to “urban” neighbourhoods.
Diageo denied the allegations and said it would defend itself “vigorously”.
“This is a business dispute and we are saddened that Mr Combs has chosen to recast this matter as anything other than that,” a spokesman for the company said. “Our steadfast commitment to diversity within our company and the communities we serve is something we take very seriously.”
10.50am: Drop in mortgage approvals point to challenging times for housing market
A fall in mortgage approvals and a net repayment of mortgage debt in April point to a housing market in a challenging position, according to Martin Beck, Chief Economic Advisor to the EY ITEM Club.
Beck added: "Meanwhile, climbs in mortgage rates, prompted by the likelihood of more rate rises by the Bank of England, could intensify the market’s challenges further."
"“Combined with the latest Nationwide house price data, which showed the largest year-on-year fall in values in May since 2009, April's lending numbers point to a housing market struggling in the face of pressure on household finances and higher mortgage rates," he felt.
10.44am: Mortgage approvals fall in May
The number of mortgages being approved by UK lenders fell in April, new data from the Bank of England shows.
There were 48,690 new mortgages agreed in April, down from 51,488 in March and the lowest level since February.
The BoE said borrowing of mortgage debt by individuals continued to decline from net zero in March to £1.4 billion of net repayments in April, the lowest level on record.
Net borrowing on consumer credit by individuals in April was broadly unchanged when compared to March, at £1.6bn.
During April, households deposited an additional £3.6bn with banks and building societies, following net withdrawals of £3.0bn in March.
10.37am: Eurozone inflation falls more than expected
Inflation in the eurozone fell more than expected in May, hitting its lowest level since Russia invaded Ukraine over a year ago boosting hopes that the ECB could stop raising interest rates this summer.
Consumer prices in the 20-country single currency bloc rose 6.1% in the year to May, decelerating from 7% in April, the lowest level since February 2022 and lower the 6.3% forecast by economists.
Euro area #inflation at 6.1% in May 2023, down from 7.0% in April. Components: food, alcohol & tobacco +12.5%, other goods +5.8%, services +5.0%, energy -1.7% - flash estimate https://t.co/DvudOtOCLT pic.twitter.com/MabN9cDgL1
— EU_Eurostat (@EU_Eurostat) June 1, 2023
Core inflation, which strips out energy and food prices, fell from 5.6% in April to 5.3% in May, more than economists predicted.
In London, the FTSE 100 is up 34 points to 7,480. In Europe, The CAC 40 is up 0.8% in Paris, while in Frankfurt, the Dax has jumped 1.1%.
10.03am: BHP underpaid workers for 13 years
BHP Group Ltd (LSE:BHP, ASX:BHP) underpaid current and former workers across the country for 13 years, a review by the firm showed.
The Australian mining giant found that around 28,500 employees received less holiday than they were entitled to, while 400 workers did not get additional allowances "due to an error with the employment entity."
BHP said it has reported the incident to the authorities and the errors will cost the company up to £225mln.
Some affected employees had their leave incorrectly deducted on Australian public holidays, the company found, and as a result were owed a total of six days of leave on average.
"We are sorry to all current and former employees impacted by these errors. This is not good enough and falls short of the standards we expect at BHP," Geraldine Slattery, BHP's Australia president, said.
"We are working to rectify and remediate these issues, with interest, as quickly as possible," she added.
BHP, which is headquartered in Melbourne, is the world's biggest miner.
It has around 80,000 employees and contract workers at sites including the Escondida mine in Chile, which is the largest copper mine in the world.
9.49am: British Land demoted from FTSE 100, Ocado survives
British Land Company PLC (LSE:BLND) has been relegated from the FTSE 100, breaking a 21-year run in London’s blue-chip index, after its value was hit by rising interest rates and the disruption caused by last autumn’s mini-budget.
Its place in the top index will be taken by engineering firm, IMI.
The online supermarket and retail technology group Ocado Group PLC had been expected to be demoted but survived in the latest quarterly shake-up announced last night by index provider, FTSE Russell.
London’s premier share index contains the 100 most highly capitalised companies whose shares are traded in London, and is rebalanced four times a year by relegating any company that has fallen below 110th position on the London market.
British Land has been hit by soaring interest rates, which have hurt the UK commercial property market, on top of the move towards home working.
Its shares have dropped by 13% so far this year.
In the FTSE 250, there were promotions for Capita PLC, Empiric Student Property PLC, ME Group International PLC, North Atlantic Smaller Cos Investment Trust PLC and Tyman PLC.
Heading out were Asos PLC, Capricorn Energy PLC, Hunting PLC, Tullow Oil PLC (LSE:TLW) and Videndum PLC.
9.31am: Brexit slammed by former US Treasury Secretary
Brexit was a “historic economic error” which has hurt the UK economy and helped to drive up inflation, Larry Summers, the former US Treasury Secretary has warned.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Summers stated that UK economic policy has been “substantially flawed for some years,” and singled out the exit from the European Union as a factor driving up costs.
He explained: "I think Brexit will be remembered as a historic economic error that reduced the competitiveness of the UK economy, put downward pressure on the pound and upwards pressure on prices, limited imports of goods and limited in some ways the supply of labour."
Summers adds that the Bank of England also blundered: "I think that was reinforced by very ill-judged monetary policies that were substantially too expansionary for too long."
But he thinks the BoE should stick to the medicine of higher rates, rather than stopping the treatment too soon and risk “a recurrence of the underlying infection”.
"Usually when you’re prescribed a course of medication, even if the drugs are not so pleasant themselves, and even if they possibly have some side effects, it’s usually better is to take the whole course of medicine, the first time it’s prescribed than to stop taking the medicine early," he said.
9.20am: City puts the boot into Dr Martens, shares slump
Dr Martens PLC (LSE:DOCS) remains friendless with shares down around 11% in early exchanges after the company warned of lower margins in the year ahead alongside a 26% decline in annual pre-tax profit.
The City put the boot as the iconic footwear manufacturer predicted EBITDA margins would fall by 1-2 percentage points in the financial year ahead with a 5-6 percentage point fall in the first half.
Susannah Streeter at Hargreaves Lansdown said: "Yet another downgrade was the last update investors wanted to see, but the company has lowered its guidance for pre-tax profits for the coming year and highlighted that recovery in 2025 isn’t going to be as strong as forecast."
The warning came as the FTSE 250 company posted revenue in the year to 31 March 2023 of £1.00bn, up 10% from £908.3mln, alongside a 26% decline in pre-tax profit to £159.4mln from £214.3mln.
Neil Shah at Edison Group, commented: “This is a disappointing set of results for Dr Martens, which has been struggling unsuccessfully to maintain its share price over recent months."
“These full year results suggest a case of one step forward, two steps back for the UK-based boot maker," he added.
The bootmaker has suffered from operational challenges which has led to two successive downgrades in profit forecast in a three-month period.
Supply-chain issues and serious bottlenecks across the company’s US arm, mainly the LA distribution centre, have combined with external pressures to cause major disruption for the firm.
Dr Martens said profitability was hit by slower revenue growth, continued investment in new stores, marketing and people, and £15mln costs associated with the Los Angeles distribution centre.
Shah continued: “What the boot maker does has working in its favour is a strong brand recognition and visibility; but to feel the full effect of these advantages, the group will need to pump extensive efforts into addressing operational challenges over the coming months.”
HL's Streeter agreed: "There are still plenty of problems to fix it seems and it’s going to take a chunk of expenditure to do so, which will eat into profit margins."
"Dr Martens may have a strong brand with good potential, but it needs to leave the repair shop and shine up its sales to help restore investor confidence.’’
8.57am: FTSE in the green, B&M continues to attract support
The Footsie continues to race ahead, now up 39 points, at 7,485.
B&M European Value Retail continues to find favour in the City after yesterday’s results with investment banks upping price targets for the retailer.
Barclays has raised its target to 565p from 485p and kept an overweight rating, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) has gone higher, lifting its target to 650p from 600p and reiterated a buy rating, while Deutsche Bank sits in the middle with an increased target of 600p, up from 580p. It has a buy rating.
Shares are 2.3% higher at 521.50p.
AstraZeneca PLC (LSE:AZN) shares rose 0.8% as it hailed another approval for cancer drug Lynparza, as it ceased its development programme for Crohn's disease-focused brazikumab.
Shore Capital said the news on brazikumab was disappointing but “shows strong cost discipline.”
“We understand that this decision has been following a recent review of development timelines and evolving competitive landscape that has continued to evolve.”
The broker said the Lynparza was “largely expected.”
BAE Systems also edged higher as it started the third batch of share buybacks aimed at boosting returns for shareholders.
The defence giant will repurchase up to £500mln of shares by July 24 next year, having completed two previous programmes in November last year and on May 16.
8.15am: FTSE 100 rallies but Dr Martens sinks
The FTSE 100 made a bright start to the day after the US debt ceiling bill passed a key vote and despite news of a fall in house prices.
At 8.15am, London's lead index was up 29.70 points, or 0.40%, to 7,475.84 while the broader FTSE 250 rose to 18,751.11, up 28.21 points, or 0.15%.
The House of Representatives passed a bill to raise the US debt ceiling, that brings Washington closer to averting a historic default.
The bill must still pass the Senate and be signed by President Joe Biden to go into effect before the June 5 deadline, but the House vote was seen as the biggest threat to the legislation.
Back in London, and Nationwide reported that the average price of houses sold in May were 3.4% lower than a year ago, down from the 2.7% fall recorded in April.
In May, prices slipped by 0.1% on a seasonally-adjusted basis, following a surprise rise in April of 0.4%.
Martin Beck, Chief Economic Advisor to the EY ITEM Club, said: “The main headwind facing the housing market - rising mortgage rates - is set to build.”
He noted around 2.5mln more owner-occupiers will be exposed to higher mortgage rates during 2023 as fixed-rate deals are renegotiated.
“The EY ITEM Club thinks it is very likely the Bank of England will raise interest rates again this month, and possibly again later in the summer.”
But he thinks although house prices are likely to continue drifting down, a major correction will be avoided.
Dr Martens PLC (LSE:DOCS) tumbled 11% after it warned that margins would fall in the year ahead alongside a hefty fall in annual profits.
The iconic bootmaker posted revenue in the year to March 31 of £1.00bn, up 10% from £908.3mln but a 26% decline in pre-tax profit to £159.4mln from £214.3mln.
Looking ahead, the firm held its revenue guidance for the new financial year but expects EBITDA margins to fall by 1-2 percentage points.
In the first half, revenue is seen unchanged year-on-year with EBITDA margins 5-6 percentage lower.
The firm took a £15mln hit from issues in the US.
Auto Trader Group PLC (LSE:AUTO) eased 0.8% after its results.
The online car retailer said revenue in the year ended March 31 rose 16% to £500.2mln from £432.7mln, operating profit fell 9% to £277.6mln from £303.6mln and EPS dipped 2% to 25.01p from 25.61p.
Richard Hunter, head of markets at interactive investor, commented “Auto Trader’s dominance in its market continues to drive growth, despite the ongoing challenges within the wider car industry.”
He pointed out revenue and profit were ahead of consensus forecasts.
7.57am: House prices fall in May, headwinds to strengthen
UK house prices have dropped again on an annual basis, and rising mortgage rates could put more pressure on the market in the months to come, according to latest figures.
Nationwide reported today that the average price of houses sold in May were 3.4% lower than a year ago, down from the 2.7% fall recorded in April.
In May, prices slipped by 0.1% on a seasonally-adjusted basis, partly reversing April’s 0.4% rise.
The average price was £260,736 in May, Nationwide said, which sees the market coming under pressure in the months ahead.
“Headwinds to the housing market look set to strengthen in the near term,” said Robert Gardner, Nationwide's Chief Economist.
Gardiner continued: “While consumer price inflation did slow in April, it was a much smaller decline than most analysts had expected.”
“As a result, investors’ expectations for the future path of Bank Rate increased noticeably in late May, suggesting it could peak at c5.5%, well above the c4.5% peak that was priced in around late March.”
“Furthermore, rates are also projected to remain higher for longer.”
“Nevertheless, in our view a relatively soft landing remains the most likely outcome since labour market conditions remain solid and household balance sheets appear in relatively good shape.
“While activity is likely to remain subdued in the near term, healthy rates of nominal income growth, together with modestly lower house prices, should help to improve housing affordability over time, especially if mortgage rates moderate once Bank Rate peaks.”
7.50am: Auto trader profit falls but confident of the year ahead
Auto Trader Group PLC (LSE:AUTO) reported a healthy jump in annual revenue but squeezed margin dented profitability.
The online car retailer said revenue in the year ended March 31 rose 16% to £500.2mln from £432.7mln, operating profit fell 9% to £277.6mln from £303.6mln and EPS dipped 2% to 25.01p from 25.61p.
The company said average revenue per retailer per month was up £227, 10%, to £2,437 driven by both price and product levers, with the stock lever being flat.
Physical car stock on site was up 2% to 437,000 cars although new car listings declined to 25,000 on average from 29,000 the year prior.
Looking ahead, the firm said the new financial year has started well and the board is therefore confident of meeting its growth expectations for the year.
“We expect another good year of retailer revenue growth,” it said.
“We anticipate a slight decline in retailer numbers, mostly due to the full year impact of the disposal of Webzone Limited. The other revenue areas within the main Auto Trader business are likely to perform within a range of flat to low single digit growth,” Auto Trader said.
The firm also named Matt Davies as Non-Executive Director, Chair Designate and as a member of the Nomination Committee.
The company proposed a final dividend of 5.6p giving a total payout of 8.4p, up from 8.2p last year.
7.28am: Dr Martens warns of lower margins, profit falls
Dr Martens PLC (LSE:DOCS) revenue topped the £1bn mark for the first time but it could prevent the iconic bootmaker reporting a heavy fall in profit.
The FTSE 250 company posted revenue in the year to March 31 of £1.00bn, up 10% from £908.3mln but a 26% decline in pre-tax profit to £159.4mln from £214.3mln.
Looking ahead, the firm held its revenue guidance for the new financial year but expects EBITDA margins to fall by 1-2 percentage points.
In the first half, revenue is see unchanged year-on-year with EBITDA margins 5-6 percentage lower.
For the 22/23 financial year, the firm reported a strong performance in EMEA but softer performance in America, while in APAC, Japan's strong DTC growth was offset by Covid-19 restrictions and lower sales to its China distributor.
Profitability was hit by slower revenue growth, continued investment in new stores, marketing and people, and £15mln costs associated with the Los Angeles distribution centre.
It also took a £3.9mln impairment charge and a £10.7mln hit from the FX translation of its Euro bank debt.
Dr Martens declared a final dividend of 4.28p, level with last year, taking the total dividend to 5.84p, up 6% and intends to start a £50mln buyback.
7.00am: FTSE seen higher after debt ceiling vote passes
The FTSE 100 is predicted to edge higher at the open on Thursday after The House of Representatives passed a bill to raise the US debt ceiling bringing the US closer to avoiding a default.
Spread betting companies are calling London’s lead index up by around 12 points.
US markets had closed lower ahead of the vote with resilient job vacancies figures reigniting fears of further rate increases when the Federal Reserve next meets in June.
The bill must still pass the Senate and be signed by President Joe Biden to go into effect before the June 5 deadline, but the House vote was seen as the biggest risk to the legislation.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 134.51 points, or 0.4%, to 32,908.27. The S&P 500 shed 25.53 points, 0.6%, at 4,179.83 and the Nasdaq Composite ended its winning run, declining 82.14 points, 0.6%, at 12,935.28.
In Asia, markets pushed higher. The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was up 0.7%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.3%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was up 0.8%.
Back in London and the early focus will be updates from Dr Martens and Pennon while a raft of manufacturing PMI figures are due in the UK, Europe and US throughout the trading session.