Three things you need to know in the financial markets this morning from investment writer, Tony Cross.
SSE
There’s a Q3 trading statement out from utility provider SSE [LON:SSE] today, which appears to show little cause for concern. The COVID pandemic has taken a toll on the business, but operating profit is set to come in around the previously stated range of £150m-£250m. Shareholders will be cheered by the fact that this doesn’t stand to impact dividends, which will reflect last year’s payment plus RPI. Adjusted EPS forecasts remain in line with those last stated in early December.
DCC
FTSE-100 listed marketing support group DCC [LON:DCC] has published an interim management statement for the three months to December 31st. Operating profits were well ahead of the comparative, positioning the full year well to see strong growth despite the economic uncertainty that lingers. The company has been expanding operations through a series of acquisitions, an initiative that the company remains committed to pursuing.
Virgin Money UK
Q1 numbers are out from Virgin Money [LON:VMUK] today, with the headline being that these are in line with management expectations despite wider economic uncertainty. The stand outs here may well be around consumer behaviour with the bank noting customer deposits had grown whilst personal lending was lower, as the public became more prudent – and indeed had fewer options for spending money. Critically, the company notes that it hasn’t been required to make any COVID-specific provisions for bad debt, with government mandated credit-holidays arguably having helped streamline the position here.
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