Bunzl lowers full-year guidance, Barratt Redrow reports stable quarter
By Josh White
Date: Wednesday 16 Apr 2025
(Sharecast News) - London open
The FTSE 100 is expected to open 45 points lower on Wednesday, having closed up 1.41% on Tuesday at 8,249.12.
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Bunzl has lowered its guidance for 2025 after a worse-than-expected start to the year, with profits down "significantly" in the first quarter due to a challenging economic backdrop. The international distribution and services group said it now expects only a "moderate" increase in revenues at constant exchange rates this year, down from an earlier projection for "robust growth", while the operating margin is now expected to reduce to 8.0% compared with the initial targets for no change from 8.3% in 2024.
Barratt Redrow reported a stable trading performance for the quarter ended 30 March on Wednesday, with a slight year-on-year increase in its core private reservation rate and a total of 3,717 home completions, keeping it on track to deliver full-year guidance of 16,800 to 17,200 homes. The FTSE 100 housebuilder said the integration of Redrow was progressing well, with office consolidations, systems transitions, and procurement synergies supporting a £100m cost-saving target. Despite a 10% year-on-year decline in forward sales volumes, the value of the private order book rose 3.3%, supported by modest price inflation and a strong balance sheet with £508m in net cash.
Newspaper round-up
China is to snub a major UK summit on energy security next week, the Guardian has learned, amid a growing row over the country's involvement in UK infrastructure projects. The US will send a senior White House official to the 60-country summit, to be co-hosted with the International Energy Agency. Leading oil and gas companies are also invited, along with big technology businesses, and petrostates including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. - Guardian
Wealthier households could be made to shoulder higher costs for running and upgrading the UK's network of energy cables and pipes to help low-income bill payers under new plans to be considered this summer. The proposals could mean that high-income households will pay more via the standing charge on their energy bills, while those who are not in work or are on low pay are charged a discounted rate. - Guardian
Grant Thornton is encouraging staff to use trains instead of planes when travelling abroad as part of its effort to contribute to the net zero push. The accountancy giant has launched a new travel booking system that will "encourage environmentally conscious travel choices", forming part of its attempt to slash emissions by up to 90c by 2045. - Telegraph
Peers are preparing an attempt to block Angela Rayner's so-called "pub banter crackdown" over fears it will hinder free speech. Ahead of a parliamentary hearing this month, members in the House of Lords are battling to shield pubs and universities from a new rule forcing them to protect staff from third-party harassment. - Telegraph
Nvidia said it expects to take a $5.5 billion hit as President Trump clamps down on the sale of powerful artificial intelligence chips to China. The US chip designer at the centre of the AI boom said the US government was introducing new restrictions on its chip exports over fears they could be used to help China build a supercomputer. - The Times
US close
Major indices headed south on Tuesday as traders digested a fresh batch of Q1 earnings from more of the nation's biggest names in banking.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.38% at 40,368.96, while the S&P 500 lost 0.17% to 5,396.63 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.05% softer at 16,823.17.
The Dow closed 155.83 points lower on Tuesday, taking a modest bite out of gains recorded in the previous session as surprise tariff exemptions gave sentiment a leg-up.
Tuesday's primary focus was earnings from banking giants Bank of America and Citigroup, with the former topping analysts' estimates on the back of better-than-expected interest income and trading, while the latter's results also beat analysts' estimates thanks to gains in fixed income and equities trading.
Elsewhere, pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson hiked its quarterly dividend payout by 4.8% on Tuesday as it delivered Q1 revenue and EPS that came in above estimates on the Street at $21.89bn and $2.77 per share, respectively.
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