Three things you need to know in the financial markets this morning from investment writer, Tony Cross
Royal Mail
Royal Mail has published half year results this morning and although the recent profit warning may have braced the market for a downturn, the earnings per share figure has come in well below consensus forecasts. The company concludes the statement by saying it’s disappointed with performance over the first half, although a range of actions – including cost savings – are being deployed in a bid to improve. Shareholders will be hoping that Christmas delivers the gifts that might return this to a positive trajectory.
- Can the business deliver for shareholders at next week’s results?
- Revenues grow in full year statement
Cineworld
A year to date trading update from Cineworld shows that the business is in good health, with total revenues up by over 11%. This growth is evenly split between retail and box-office sales, but the US is by some margin the strongest performing market. Foreign currency headwinds are also damping down the returns to some degree but the expectation is that full year results will be in line with expectations.
QinetiQ
There’s a six month update from QinetiQ, which although shows an upturn in revenues, also illustrates that profits are being squeezed. Expectations for the full year are however unchanged and the company already has 90% of the work committed to contract.
