Spirax full-year revenues slip, Synthomer free cash flow swings into the red
By Alexander Bueso
Date: Tuesday 11 Mar 2025
(Sharecast News) - London open:
As of 0726 BST FTSE 100 futures were climbing 22.50 points to 8,628.50.
In the press:
Environmental campaigners will challenge the granting of a high-interest £3bn emergency loan to struggling Thames Water at an appeal on Tuesday, arguing the "eye-watering" costs for a short-term fix are not in the public interest. With protests planned outside the court of appeal, Charlie Maynard, a Liberal Democrat MP who represents the campaigners, will argue in a three-day hearing that the public and consumer interest is not served by the debt package, which comes with a bill of almost £1bn in interest payments and financial adviser fees. - Guardian
The former Barclays chief executive Jes Staley has accused the UK's financial regulator of seeking to "destroy" his reputation built up over a 43-year career in banking and making "no attempt" to understand his relationship with child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Staley took the witness box for the first time on a Monday at the start of the second week of a high-profile legal challenge in London. It marked the first time the former UK banking boss has given any detailed public account of his experience with Epstein or the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) investigation. - Guardian
Unilever is hiring an army of influencers to help sell its products as its new chief executive claimed customers are "suspicious" about traditional advertising. The Marmite and mayonnaise maker has announced plans to spend heavily on social media stars in the coming years, in the hope of winning over shoppers on sites such as TikTok. - Telegraph
Stocks to watch:
Spirax Group posted a 1% drop in full-year revenues to reach approximately £1.67bn, yet profit before tax rose 6% to £258.9m. Exchange rates subtracted around five percentage points of growth from the top-line. The higher profit was due in part to a 140 basis point improvement in its operating margins to 18.3%. Basic earnings per share were up by 4% to 259.6p and the dividend payout by 3% to 165p. On an adjusted and organic basis, revenues were ahead by 4% at £1.67bn. Global industrial production growth of 1.7% was less than expected, with management describing the trading environment as "challenging".
Synthomer posted a 5.1% rise in full-year revenues to reach £1.99bn at constant currencies, whilst operating profits on an EBITDA basis were up by 9.2% at £146.6m. In underlying terms, the company posted an underlying loss of £7.2m or £87.3m on a statutory basis. Its free cash flow meanwhile swung from £85.7m in 2023 to a negative £54.7m for last year. Net debt increased by nearly 20% to £597m.
House builder Persimmon said its net private sales rate per outlet per week was up 14% in the first nine weeks of 2025 with a current private forward order book of £1.15bn, 27% higher year on year. Underlying pre-tax profit for 2024 was up 10% to £395.1m as completions rose 7% to 10,664. Persimmon is now targeting 11,000-11,500 completions in 2025. "The underlying market fundamentals remain strong and we are encouraged by the further improvement in our sales rates in the early weeks of this year," chief executive Dean Finch said on Tuesday.
US close:
US stocks tumbled on Monday with the banking and tech sectors bearing the brunt of a mass sell-off on the back of fears about the economic outlook after Donald Trump refused to rule out a recession this year.
The Dow dropped 2.1% to finish at 41,911.71; the S&P 500 sank 2.7% to 5,614.56; while the Nasdaq plummeted 4% to 17,468.32 in its worst daily performance since 2022. This was the S&P 500's and Nasdaq's lowest finishes since mid-September.
"The US market sell-off is starting to look ugly," said Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell, citing investor concerns about a trade war, geopolitics and the uncertain economic outlook.
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