- FTSE 100 closes down 37 points at 7,558
- Average earnings growth cools in November
- Ocado enjoys record Christmas, strong Q4
4:40pm: FTSE 100 at session lows as rate hopes ebb
The FTSE 100 ended near session lows as investors looked to data this week to support hopes for early cuts in interest rates.
At the close, London's blue-chip index closed down 36.57 points, 0.5%, at 7,558.34 while the FTSE 250 was little changed at 19,193.32.
Michael Hewson at CMC Markets said: "The weakness we saw in European markets yesterday has carried over as the continued pushback on rate cut expectations from central banks has served to boost the US dollar as well as undermine confidence in risky assets, as concerns over the economic outlook grow."
"The prospect that rate cuts may well come much later in the year has seen yields rebound from their recent lows, while sending the FTSE100 to one-month lows."
Experian (LSE:EXPN) led the FTSE 100 risers after a bullish trading update, but a downgrade from UBS hurt AstraZeneca.
Rightmove was another to suffer at the hands of a broker downgrade, this one by JPMOrgan which sent shares down 4.0%.
JD Sports Fashio topped the fallers, slipping 4.7% in late trading.
3:53pm: Dr Reddy’s in the running Haleon’s Nicotinell
Sky is also reporting that Dr Reddy's Laboratories, an Indian pharmaceutical group, is in talks to buy Nicotinell, the anti-smoking aid, from its FTSE-100 parent company. Haleon.
Sky said it has learnt that Hyderabad-based Dr Reddy's has emerged as the frontrunner to acquire the brand from Haleon, the consumer healthcare giant spun out of GlaxoSmithKline two years ago.
3:28pm: Superdry brings in PwC to advise on finances - Sky
Shares in Superdry have plunged after Sky News reported that the London-listed clothing retailer has enlisted one of the big four accountancy firms to advise on its finances in the wake of a pre-Christmas profit warning.
Sky said that Superdry, founded by Julian Dunkerton, has appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to examine its debt-raising options.
Exclusive: Superdry, the struggling London-listed fashion retailer, has drafted in advisers from the accountancy firm PwC to explore debt-raising options in the wake of a pre-Christmas profit warning which it blamed on abnormally mild autumn weather. https://t.co/OIXOY19Qda
— Mark Kleinman (@MarkKleinmanSky) January 16, 2024
The move to bring in new City advisers has emerged just weeks after the fashion brand's shares sank to a record low after it blamed abnormally mild autumn weather for weak sales.
Superdry already has sizeable debt facilities available to it, through arrangements with Hilco and Bantry Bay Capital worth a total of more than £100 million, Sky noted.
3:10pm: Diageo settles spat with Sean 'Diddy' Combs
Diageo PLC (LSE:DGE) has settled its dispute with Sean 'Diddy' Combs, after the rapper withdrew all allegations against the spirits maker.
The spirits maker cut ties with Combs last year, ending a lucrative 15-year partnership that culminated in a racial discrimination lawsuit.
The music mogul charged that Diageo had neglected and underpromoted his DeLeón tequila, dismissing it as an “urban” product in its marketing.
But Diageo, which owns Guinness and Smirnoff vodka, countered that this was a “baseless complaint.”
Today, Diageo said Combs has withdrawn all of his allegations about Diageo and will voluntarily dismiss his lawsuits against Diageo with prejudice.
Diageo and Combs have no ongoing business relationship, either with respect to Cîroc vodka or DeLeón tequila, which Diageo now solely owns.
Shares in Diageo are down 0.6%.
2:45pm: US markets head lower
As expected, US stocks have fallen back and the dollar has gained as investors looked ahead to a busy week of speeches from central bank policymakers to see if hopes for a rate cut in March were supported.
Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 87.36 points, 0.2%, at 37,505.62, the S&P 500 was down 17.42, 0.4%, at 4,766.41 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 44.67 points, 0.3%, at 14,928.09.
Markets will be paying close attention to comments from the Federal Reserve’s Christopher Waller later on Tuesday.
Chris Turner, global head of markets at ING noted Waller delivered the "definitive and market-moving "something appears to be giving" speech in late November."
The speech provided an important lead indicator for the Fed's dovish turn at the December FOMC meeting, Turner pointed out.
"We presume today that he will stick to that same core message of successful disinflation and will not want to get involved in the fine-tuning of discussing a 2024 easing cycle, but not starting in March."
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) fell 3.6% after reporting fourth quarter profit declined on one-off charges, in a mixed end to a year where it faced a "number of headwinds".
Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) was holding up better, little changed, after it reported consensus-topping fourth-quarter revenue, as its Asset & Wealth Management arm enjoyed a strong final three months of 2023.
2:28pm: Shell 'suspends all travel through Red Sea'
Shell has reportedly suspended all shipments through the Red Sea indefinitely in response to the attacks by Houthi rebels on vessels travelling via the vital trade route.
The oil and gas giant last week decided to halt all crossings over concerns that a successful attack could trigger a massive spill in the region, as well as present risks to the safety of crews on the ships, according to the Wall Street Journal.
#BREAKING: SHELL SUSPENDS RED SEA SHIPMENTS AMID HOUTHI STRIKES. OIL GIANT JOINS OTHERS IN HALTING OPERATIONS DUE TO SECURITY CONCERNS IN STRATEGIC WATERWAY. GROWING IMPACT OF REGIONAL CONFLICT ON GLOBAL OIL SUPPLY. #Shell #RedSea #OilIndustry pic.twitter.com/GCLIcrK7a3
— Genius Bot X (@GeniusBotX) January 16, 2024
It comes after Maersk suspended all shipping, as well as BP and Qatar Energy.
2:12pm: Severn Trent is Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) (Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS))’s top UK water pick
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) has raised price targets for Severn Trent, United Utilities and Pennon today.
The investment bank said that a “we approach UK water's regulatory Final Determination in December, we see reduced uncertainty & higher market valuations as the return & investment allowance landscape is clarified.”
It views 2024 as a “catalytic year for unprecedented future asset growth & strong earnings CAGRs in listed names.”
Severn Trent (overweight) is its top pick with its operational outperformance/growth combination underappreciated at current prices.
At United Utilities (overweight) growth scenarios are skewed to the upside and an improving operational performance is not priced.
Pennon (equal weight) is making progress but MS sees better upside elsewhere.
The target for Severn Trent was increased to 3,200p from 3,100p, for United Utilities to 1,260p from 1,220p and for Pennon to 860p from 800p.
1:35pm: Here are some of today's top risers
Uncertainty around global technology spending and resultant job cuts across the sector is not a worry of Northcoders Group PLC (AIM:CODE).
Shares jumped 25p to 160p as AIM-listed Northcoders hailed a new £10 million government contract on Tuesday to provide individuals with coding training.
EQTEC PLC (AIM:EQT) shares almost doubled to 4.41p after its Italian plant received approval to draw down €2.9 million of loan funds to carry out its growth plan.
Shares were further boosted as the firm unveiled a joint venture with CompactGTL Ltd to pursue development of waste-to-liquid synthetic fuels.
Blue Star Capital PLC (AIM:BLU), a micro-cap investor in esports and blockchain opportunities, saw its shares surge some 20% higher on Tuesday after it gave investors updates on investee companies Dynasty Gaming & Media and SatoshiPay.
The company, in a statement, highlighted that Dynasty recently formed a new partnership with Vera Media Group which has led to the ‘soft launch’ of Lightning Dragon, a new platform operating in the Philippines.
And finally, Shares in Blackbird PLC (AIM:BIRD, OTCQX:BBRDF) flew 10% higher to 6.6p after it confirmed preparations for the launch of its new cloud-based video editing software are going to plan.
Aimed squarely at the massive video creator market, where YouTubers, TikTokers and Instagrammers jostle with daily new video content, elevate.io is ready for full launch around March time, the company said.
1:04pm: Cargo ship hit by missile off Yemen
The crisis in the Red Sea has flared up once more.
A Greek-owned cargo ship was hit by a missile off Yemen, a maritime risk management company said on Tuesday, following a string of attacks in the Red Sea.
"A Malta-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier was reportedly targeted and impacted with a missile while transiting the southern Red Sea northbound," Ambrey said in an alert.
The attack followed a missile strike on Monday on the Gibraltar Eagle, another bulk carrier, in the Gulf of Aden.
Oil prices are trading around 0.8% higher.
12:44pm: Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) revenue and earnings climb in fourth quarter
Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) has reported net revenue of $11.32 billion for the fourth quarter, 7% higher than last year, but 4% lower than the third quarter.
The investment bank said the increase compared with the fourth quarter of 2022 reflected higher net revenues in Asset & Wealth Management and Platform Solutions, partially offset by lower net revenues in Global Banking & Markets.
Net earnings for the fourth quarter were $2.01 billion and diluted EPS were $5.48 compared with $3.32 last year, and $5.47 for the third quarter of 2023.
Chair and Chief Executive David Solomon said: "This was a year of execution for Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS)."
"With everything we achieved in 2023 coupled with our clear and simplified strategy, we have a much stronger platform for 2024."
"Our strategic objectives underscore our relentless commitment to serve our clients with excellence, further strengthen our leading client franchise and continue to deliver for shareholders.”
Shares have risen 1.2% in pre-market trading.
12:32pm: China's GDP growth seen at 5.2%
Chinese Premier Li Qiang said Tuesday the country's economy was expected to have grown by around 5.2% in 2023, as he addressed an annual meeting of global elites in Davos.
The figure would represent an improvement on the three percent recorded in 2022, when tight zero-Covid curbs hammered business activity.
But it would still mean the lowest growth since 1990, excluding the years of the pandemic.
"The Chinese economy generally rebounded and improved last year," Li said in a speech at the World Economic Forum.
"Our GDP growth is expected to be around 5.2%, higher than the target of around five percent that we set at the beginning of last year," Li said.
12:02pm: US markets called lower
Across to the US now, where markets are expected to open lower, after being closed on Monday for a public holiday.
Markets are expected to head lower ahead of earnings from Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), and as the country digested the prospect of Donald Trump running for President.
In pre-market trading, futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.5%, while those for the S&P 500 were down 0.5% and contracts for the Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.7%.
Joshua Mahony at Scope Markets said: “US markets are increasingly going to have to prepare for the likely event of a second term for Donald Trump, with Iowa Republicans backing him heavily in a vote that saw Vivek Ramaswamy pull out and endorse Trump’s campaign.”
“Despite the efforts from the more moderate Nikki Haley, it looks increasingly likely to be a fresh showdown between Joe Biden and Donald Trump this year.”
Elsewhere, net income at Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) is expected to rise more than 10% from a year ago to $1.3 billion in the fourth quarter on a 2% increase in revenue, helped by a solid performance from its trading and investment banking arms.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)’s strategy will be in focus as new boss Ted Pick the first set of results under his tenure.
Net income is expected to have dropped 23% cent from a year ago to $1.6 billion in the fourth quarter.
11:34am: AstraZeneca downgraded on margin worries
More on the AstraZeneca downgrade by UBS to 'sell' from 'buy'.
The Swiss bank reclons from 2025 there will be a marked top-line slowdown as US Medicare Part D reform increases rebates on Astra's oral oncology portfolio, alongside the impact of generics for Brilinta, Farxiga and Soliris.
UBS also assumes lower margins versus consensus from accelerating R&D and lower gross margin, with Core EBIT 5% below consensus in
2025/26.
"We see limited upside from current levels," the broker said.
It is more positive on GSK, upgraded to 'buy' from 'sell'.
UBS said it is 5% above consensus for 2028 sales (on higher Shingrix, Arexvy & Cabenuva) and 9% for core EPS on higher margins.
"The key driver of our higher margin assumptions is the improved gross margin from the mix shift away from older, lower-price-point primary care-focused Gen Med towards more specialty drugs and adult vaccines," it said.
It has a 1,860p price target for GSK.
11:13am: Moneysupermarket slips as Jefferies cuts on growth worries
Over to FTSE 250 and Moneysupermarket.com (LSE:MONY) Group PLC is top of the fallers, down a whopping 8.0% after Jefferies took the stock off its 'buy' list.
It expects growth in insurance (50% of revenue) to decelerate in the fourth quarter and throughout 2024 as the group laps tough comparatives and car insurance premium disinflation takes hold.
"We agree with the 'Retain and Grow' strategy, but we believe it warrants a wait-and-see approach," Jefferies said.
Jefferies thinks the online and intermediary nature of the business model leaves revenue exposed to future iterations of the technology.
"We therefore believe that some risk does exist, though its form and magnitude are unclear."
"In the short term, we are confident that disintermediation is unlikely, as the user experience and product suitability are currently hard for generative AI to replicate," it added.
"We see no near-term catalysts, and relative valuation metrics point to fair value", it aded, and moved the stock to 'hold' from 'buy'.
10:48am: Harbour Energy jumps as BofA hikes price target
One stock bucking the weaker market is Harbour Energy PLC (LSE:HBR), up 5.1%.
Bank of America has raised its price target to 500p from 460p, and reiterated its ‘buy’ rating, after taking a closer look at the proposed acquisition of Wintershall.
“We like what we see,” said analysts at BofA in a research note.
BofA estimates around 35% free cash-flow yields across 2024 and 2025 using $80/Brent and $10/mmbtu European gas prices.
It notes the “problematic” UK production mix (fiscal and regulatory unknowns) goes from around 90% to around 30%.
“The proposed transaction offers major geographic diversification and expands Harbours production base >2.5x towards ~500kboe/d,” the bank explained.
“Reserve life metrics are improved, opex and capex intensity reduced,” and it expects the Wintershall portfolio to generate the full $2.15 billion (and change) cash price tag with its own FCF if the deal closed at year-end 2024.
“We see a major re-rating opportunity,” BofA said.
The City seems to agree with shares marked up sharply today.
10:19am: Shell sells Nigerian business for $1.3 billion
Another bit of company news to update on.
Shell, the oil and gas giant, which has struck a deal to sell its onshore business in Nigeria for $1.3 billion, plus additional cash payments of up to $1.1 billion.
The division has been acquired by a consortium called Renaissance, which includes oil firms ND Western, Aradel Energy, First E&P, Watersmith and Petrolin.
“This agreement marks an important milestone for Shell in Nigeria, aligning with our previously announced intent to exit onshore oil production in the Niger Delta, simplifying our portfolio and focusing future disciplined investment in Nigeria on our Deepwater and Integrated Gas positions” said Zoë Yujnovich, Shell’s Integrated Gas and Upstream Director
The net book value of the entity subject to this transaction is approximately US$2.8 billion as at December 31.
9:58am: Ocado delivers strong growth but questions remain
Ocado PLC remains the top FTSE 100 riser, up 7.5%, after a strong trading update at Ocado retail.
Russ Mould at AJ Bell said the record Christmas is "eye-catching" but the significant news is that the company is confident it delivered on guidance for a return to positive earnings in the financial year just gone.
He pointed out Ocado Retail is a 50-50 joint venture between Ocado and Marks & Spencer, with the two partners experiencing a big divergence in fortunes of late.
"What happens with the partnership going forward is open to question with some suggestions Marks may look to take it over eventually," he noted
He said while online groceries "are here to stay," whether or not the service can be as profitable as it was during the pandemic is open to question.
“When it comes to the wider Ocado business, if it is ever to recapture the excitement which propelled it to the highs seen at the height of Covid, it needs to demonstrate it can deliver on a model of offering a one-stop shop solution for supermarkets looking to build out their web-based offering and make this profitable,” Mould believes.
9:48am: Rolls-Royce risk/reward now unfavourable, Berenberg downgrades
More on news of a rare downgrade for Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC (LSE:RR.), down 1.0% today.
Berenberg has moved the engineer, which was the top performing FTSE 100 stock in 2023, to ‘sell’ from ‘hold’.
It thinks some of the drivers of Rolls-Royce’s margin expansion outlook through to 2027, which mostly relate to currency and favourable mix and base effects, will reverse thereafter.
“What happens from 2027, when several of these tailwinds should reverse, will be key for the intrinsic valuation, in our view” the bank said.
“Pricing, the most important factor for intrinsic valuation, will be a challenge, given current reliability issues for key engines, which serve an airline industry that typically operates on low margins and appears to be approaching peak earnings,” it added.
Berenberg noted that new CEO Tufan Erginbilgiç is often presented in an “Elon Musk-like aura.”
But while impressed by Erginbilgiç and sharing his strategic view, Berenberg thinks it is still early days in terms of execution.
It is also "surprised at how sanguine the market is about the issues facing the XWB-97 engine (which powers the A350-1000) when operating in “non-benign” environments, ie hot/sandy locations."
"If history is a guide, this is the kind of issue that can derail medium-term margins for companies in the jet engine business," the broker said.
It views the risk/reward now as “unfavourable.”
9:28am: Busy brokers - Rolls-Royce, AstraZeneca downgraded, GSK upgraded
City scribes have been busy today with a number of upgrades and downgrades to report.
Rolls-Royce is down 1.2% after Berenberg moved to 'sell' from 'hold' with a 240p price target, while AstraZenecis down 2.9% after UBS moved to 'sell' from 'buy' and cuts its price target to 10,700p from 13,000p.
Better news for GSK, which has been double-upgraded to 'buy' from 'sell' at UBS while Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) has raised its price target to 1730p from 1,535p and reiterated an 'equal weight' rating.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) is more positive on Astra than UBS, naming it its "Top Pick in large-cap biopharma."
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) is also bullish on Severn Trent, up 0.4%, naming it the top sector pick while it rates United Utilities 'overweight' in the same sector.
Persimmon is up 2.0% after Jefferies upgraded to 'buy' adding it to Taylor Wimpey and Bellway "as the companies we see as best positioned to leverage a recovery in the sector."
It has downgraded Crest Nicholson to 'hold' and remains cautious on Barratt.
We'll have more detail on these as the day goes on..
9:00am: Lloyds falls again - JPMorgan cuts European bank forecasts
There are some flickers of green on trading screens this morning with Ocado leading the FTSE 100 risers, up 5.3%, while Experian (LSE:EXPN) PLC is up 2.0%.
Rightmove leads the fallers, down 4.5%, and Lloyds Banking Group is off a further 1.3% following falls yesterday on concerns over its exposure to the probe into motor finance.
JPMorgan reiterated its cautious stance on European banks today with Lloyds rated ‘underweight’.
It has cut its EPS forecasts across the sector by 4%/5% on average for 2025/26 to incorporate a forward ECB average rates view of 3.75% 2024, 2.5% 2025 and 2% 2026.
It thinks share price performance should be driven by earnings cuts rather than low headline valuations.
8:50am: Pound slips after colling wage growth
Back to today’s data which showed wage growth continued to ease while there was mixed picture of the jobs market.
Craig Erlam at Oanda noted average earnings growth including bonuses in the three months to November was 6.5% compared with 7.2% a month earlier and 8.5% four months ago.
“Don't get me wrong, that's still far too high but it's a lot of progress in a very short period, and with inflation now running much lower, there's every chance we see much more over the coming months that enables the Bank of England to pivot towards cutting interest rates,” he thinks.
In reaction, the pound has fallen sharply as traders continue to price in big bets on interest rate cuts in 2024.
Erlam noted markets “still see 125 basis points of cuts this year but there's a growing chance of 150 which is more in line with the US and euro area.”
But Samuel Tombs thinks market hopes are too optimistic.
“The MPC can be more confident that wage gains have slowed following today’s release, but likely still will be too worried about the near-term outlook to signal at next month’s meeting that it will reduce Bank Rate multiple times this year,” Tombs said.
He continues to think that the BoE will reduce Bank Rate by 75bp this year, “less than the 125bp currently priced-in by investors.”
8:29am: Rightmove knocked by JPMorgan downgrade
It remains a weak start to the day for the FTSE 100, now down.33 points at 7,562.
Top of the fallers is Rightmove PLC (LSE:RMV), down 4.9%, hit by a downgrade by JPMorgan.
The investment bank has downgraded the online property website to ‘underperform’ from ‘neutral’.
It pointed out that Rightmove’s share price has recovered fully after falling in the wake of CoStar’s acquisition of OnThe Market.
It noted this has been driven by better-than-anticipated property market dynamics/falling rates and a consensus view of rather limited impact of the new challenger.
But JPM argue that requirements for permanent best-inclass tech and consumer experience are rising, prompting higher R&D and opex spend.
It estimates top line growth is broadly in line with consensus, but sees downside risk to profitability.
With that, Rightmove is likely to generate a below-sector-average 7% growth in EBITDA between 2024-26.
8:15am: FTSE heads lower but Ocado jumps after strong Christmas
The FTSE 100 made a weak start to trading on Tuesday as investors digest a hefty batch of company updates and better news on wage growth.
At 8:15am, London’s blue-chip index was down 46.45 points, 0.6%, at 7,548.46 while the FTSE 250 fell 58.90 points, 0.3%, at 19,141.94.
Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets, Hargreaves Lansdown said: “More cautious sentiment has descended as the glow of hope for early interest rate cuts fades, while the latest jobs data for the UK shows potentially fresh fragility for the economy.”
“Wage growth came down more quickly than forecast, indicating that employers are more wary of succumbing to big pay demands given the uncertain climate.”
“With unemployment steady, Bank of England policymakers are still expected to repeat the mantra that interest rates will have to stay elevated for an extended period of time.”
Ocado jumped 6% after its retail joint venture, Ocado Retail, reported record Christmas trading and a strong fourth quarter.
Experian (LSE:EXPN) gained 2.7% after its positive trading update but not even the numerous mentions of AI has enthused investors in Vodafone, up 0.3%, after it announced a 10-year deal with Microsoft.
7:57am: Panmure Gordon and Liberum confirm merger
We'll also be keeping an eye on THG, Cab Payments and Rio Tinto amongst others - all have updated investors this morning.
Elsewhere, big news in the City where Panmure Gordon and Liberum have confirmed an all-share merger to create what they say will be the UK's largest independent investment bank.
Collectively, they will advise 250 public companies and employ about 280 people.
Good of Panmure Gordon & Liberum to confirm Skys scoop of last night ????
All share merger confirmed, Rich Ricci as CEO
Creates UK’s largest independent Investment Bank apparently pic.twitter.com/JfNYvTyDZg
— Aston Girl (@reb40) January 16, 2024
The deal comes in the wake of a wave of consolidation in the sector, with finnCap Cavendish and Cenkos merging last year to form Cavendish, and Deutsche Bank acquiring Numis Securities.
Global investment firm Atlas Merchant Capital, which owns Panmure, will provide financial backing and liquidity for the enlarged group, the companies said.
7:53am: Experian (LSE:EXPN) Q3 growth at upper end of its hopes
Experian (LSE:EXPN) PLC said reported a good third quarter which it said was "at the upper end of our expectations."
Revenue was up 9% at actual exchange rates from ongoing activities and 7% at constant exchange rates, with organic revenue growth of 6%.
"For FY24, we now expect full year organic revenue growth to be between 5-6%, with modest margin accretion, all at constant exchange rates and on an ongoing basis," Brian Cassin, chief executive officer, commented.
North America, which contributes 67% of group revenue, delivered organic revenue growth of 5%.
7:49am: Wise raises 2024 income growth outlook
Other FTSE 100 companies updating investors today include Wise PLC (LSE:WISE).
It said active customers grew 30% year-on-year to 7.5 million, in the financial third quarter, driven by increased adoption of the Wise Account and multi-feature usage.
The payments company said this growth in customers helped drive a 40% increase in Income to £375.1million.
A a result, the firm has raised financial 2024 Income growth guidance upgraded to c.42-44% from previous guidance of 33-38%.
This reflects the continued strong growth in active multi-feature customers, and higher levels of interest income.
Wise continues to expect adjusted Ebitda margin in 2024 to remain elevated relative to its medium-term guidance of at or above 20% given the high net yield on customer balances.
7:42am: Ocado Retail celebrates record Christmas
A positive looking update from Ocado Retail Ltd which reported its highest ever sales over Christmas alongside increased revenue, selling prices and customer numbers in the fourth quarter of 2024.
The retail joint venture between Ocado Group PLC (LSE:OCDO) and Marks & Spencer Group PLC said between December 20 and 24, sales overall increased 7%.
Retail revenue in the 13 weeks to November 26 totalled £609.4 million, up 10.9% from the year prior.
It was the fourth consecutive period of quarter-on-quarter growth and a significant increase compared to the 7.2% rise reported in the third quarter.
Average orders per week (Ocado.com) of 407,000 grew 6.3% year-on-year and the number of active customers reached 998,000 at the period end, up 5.9% year-on-year.
Average basket value (Ocado.com) was up 3.8% while basket size (number of items) remained broadly stable quarter-on-quarter at 44 items per order.
The average selling price increased 5.4% year-on-year, lower than market inflation, reflecting a focus on improving pricing relative to the market.
Looking ahead, the firm said it had confidence that the business will continue its encouraging momentum over the coming year, growing sales volumes ahead of the market.
But it cautioned revenue growth is likely to be impacted by lower growth in average selling price however, reflecting investments in value and as food price inflation continues to subside.
Overall revenue growth in financial 2024 is expected to be in the mid-high single digits.
7:19am: Vodafone strikes 10-year partnership with Micrsoft
It's a busy day for company news.
We start with Vodafone Group PLC which, alongside Microsoft Corp has announced a new, 10-year strategic partnership offering scaled digital platforms to more than 300 million businesses, public sector organisations, and consumers across Europe and Africa.
Through the partnership, the companies will use Microsoft's generative AI, to scale Vodafone's managed IoT connectivity platform, develop new digital and financial services for businesses, particularly SMEs across Europe and Africa, and overhaul its global data centre cloud strategy.
Vodafone will invest $1.5 billion over the next 10 years in cloud and customer-focused AI services developed in conjunction with Microsoft.
Additionally, Microsoft will use Vodafone's fixed and mobile connectivity services.
Microsoft also intends to invest in Vodafone's managed IoT connectivity platform, which will become a separate, standalone business by April 2024.
Margherita Della Valle, Vodafone chief executive, said: "Today, Vodafone has made a bold commitment to the digital future of Europe and Africa. This unique strategic partnership with Microsoft will accelerate the digital transformation of our business customers, particularly small and medium-sized companies, and step up the quality of customer experience for consumers."
7:00am: Stocks seen lower but wage growth eases
The FTSE 100 is expected to open lower although slightly better-than-expected news on average earnings may provide some support.
Spread betting companies are calling London's lead index down by around 25 points after closing down 30.02 points at 7,594.91 on Monday.
Figures just released by the Office for National Statistic show annual growth in regular earnings (excluding bonuses) was 6.6% in September to November 2023, and annual growth in employees' average total earnings (including bonuses) was 6.5% in September to November 2023.
Today we’ve published the latest UK labour market figures.
— Office for National Statistics (ONS) (@ONS) January 16, 2024
These compared to forecasts of 6.6% and 6.8% respectively.
ONS Director of Economic Statistics Liz McKeown said: “While annual pay growth remains high in cash terms, we continue to see signs that wage pressures might be easing overall. However, with inflation still falling more quickly, earnings continued to grow in real terms.”
Jobs data has also been released which shows In October to December 2023, the estimated number of vacancies in the UK fell by 49,000 on the quarter to 934,000.
Vacancies fell on the quarter for the 18th consecutive period, the longest consecutive run of quarterly falls ever recorded but still above pre-coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic levels.
The unemployment rate was largely unchanged on the quarter to November at 4.2%.