Three things you need to know in the financial markets today from investment writer, Tony Cross.
1. Cost of living crisis continues to bolster Premier Foods
There’s an upbeat set of full year results out from Premier Foods LON:PFD who note performance is ahead of expectations and that volume growth returned in the final quarter. Sales were 15% ahead YoY, trading profit advanced by 14% and net debt dropped by around 15%. Shareholders get a 20% increase in dividends with management noting that the the positioning of helping consumers prepare affordable meals amidst a cost of living crisis has been instrumental in the recent success. The note adds that the company is highly capital generative and following the suspension of pension deficit contributions, there’s an additional £33m a year to deploy over a range of channels.
2. Winter losses shrink at easyJet
Half year numbers from easyJet LON:EZJ are out this morning, with the company posting a headline loss of £350m, although that’s a £61m improvement on the position a year ago with 12% capacity growth and flat unit costs helping. The outlook also remains robust, with Q3 revenue set to be slightly higher YoY as a result of Easter timings whilst Q4 shows promising load factors already. easyJet holidays remains a point of focus with 40% growth in pre-tax profits forecast for the full year.
- UK Stock Market News: BT, Serco, Saga
- UK Stock Market News: easyJet, Wetherspoon, Great Portland Estates
- UK Stock Market News: Kier, abrdn, Premier Foods
3. Headwinds mount at BT
BT Group LON:BT.A has full year numbers out this morning with headline revenues up by 1% and pre-tax profits down by almost a third. Consumer revenues added 4% and Openreach added 7% but given most customers saw price hikes of in excess of 14% in March 2023, there’s not much to cheer here. Shareholders are set to get a 3.9% increase in dividends and expectations are for revenue growth of 0-1% in the year ahead.
