IAG H1 operating profits surge, IMI reiterates FY guidance
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Friday 01 Aug 2025
(Sharecast News) - LONDON PRE-OPEN
The FTSE 100 was expected to open 35.8 points lower ahead of the bell on Friday after wrapping up the previous session 0.05% softer at 9,132.81.
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British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines Group posted a strong set of H1 results on Friday, with robust travel demand and operational improvements boosting profitability. IAG said revenue had risen 8% year-on-year to €15.91bn in the six months ended 30 June, while operating profits before exceptional items surged 43.5% to €1.88bn. Adjusted earnings per share jumped nearly 70%.
IMI reiterated FY guidance after a broadly stable H1, with the engineering business hailing "strong momentum" heading into H2. IMI reported revenues of £1.09bn for the six months ended 30 June, down 1% on last year due to currency movements, though operating profits rose 1% to £198m, helped by an improvement in operating margins. On an organic basis, revenues rose by 2%, with the company expecting growth to pick up to a mid-single digit rate for 2025 as a whole.
Educational publisher Pearson said it was on track to meet FY forecasts as it reported a 2% rise in adjusted H1 operating profits. The company said earnings for the first six months of the year came in at £242m, while sales on an adjusted basis were also up 2% at £1.72bn. Pearson added that it expected stronger sales growth in H2 and Q4 in particular.
NEWSPAPER ROUND-UP
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The Treasury should consider a wealth tax to close the growing gap in the public finances, according to a Labour former shadow chancellor. Anneliese Dodds, who held the role under Keir Starmer in opposition, said ministers must have a "full and frank discussion" with the public about the "really big decisions" they had to take at this autumn's budget. - Guardian
Taxpayers were hit with a record £47bn bill to fund public sector pensions last year. Civil servants, doctors and teachers banked pots worth three times more than their private sector counterparts. HM Revenue and Customs data showed contributions from public sector employers hit a record high in 2024, eclipsing those made by businesses in the private sector, which stood at £46.4bn. - Telegraph
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The United States will enter a 90-day negotiating period with Mexico over trade but the 25% tariff rates will remain in place, President Trump said on Thursday. Posting on his Truth Social platform, Trump said a phone conversation he had with President Sheinbaum of Mexico was "very successful in that, more and more, we are getting to know and understand each other". - The Times
Gold demand rose by 45% year-on-year in value terms to a record $132bn in the second quarter of the year, in step with the price of the precious metal. According to the World Gold Council, the industry body for the gold mining industry, demand rose by 3% in quantity terms to 1,249 tonnes. - The Times
US CLOSE
US stocks finished mostly lower on Thursday as yet more tariff uncertainty weighed on risk appetite, while investors digested another flurry of economic data and corporate earnings.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.74% at 44,130.98, while the S&P 500 shed 0.37% to 6,339.39 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.03% weaker at 21,122.45.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
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