FTSE 100 recovered some ground after yesterday’s 200-point battering, but the mood remains jittery. London’s blue-chip index added 45 to 7,342 in early trading.
Royal Mail has cut its profits forecast for this year alongside plans to cut 700 managerial jobs as part of a reorganisation plan. Cost of the redundancies will be £70mln, which will reduce its forecast for profits this year to £430mln from £500mln previously.
Unilever also plans to cut thousands of management jobs in a “major initiative” that will be announced in the coming days. The consumer goods giants employs approximately 150,000 workers worldwide.
Rio Tinto and the Mongolian government have reached an agreement in their long-running dispute over who pays for the US$7bn underground expansion of the huge Oyi Tolgoi copper mine. "It's a major relief. It's a huge step forward for us," Rio chief executive Jakob Stausholm said.
Among the small caps, Frontier IP has booked a handy profit on selling stock in one of its portfolio businesses. It sold down its stake in Exscientia at an average price of US$21.68, netting US$4mln for a ‘realised gain’ of US$1.9mln.
Pharma services group Ergomed’s 2021 adjusted profit will be ahead of market expectations with the growth of the US business the stand-out feature of the company’s performance. Total revenue for the 12 months advanced by 37%.
Thor Mining has identified significant sulphides in drilling at its Sterlite prospect in Australia, although the programme was curtailed due to mechanical issues. The results look characteristic of gold mineralisation in the East Pilbara Craton, it said.