Greggs holds annual guidance, Vodafone meets full-year expectations
By Josh White
Date: Tuesday 20 May 2025
(Sharecast News) - London open
The FTSE 100 is expected to open 34 points higher on Tuesday, having closed up 0.17% on Monday at 8,699.31.
Stocks to watch
UK bakery chain Greggs held annual guidance after reporting a 2.9% rise in like-for-like sales in the first 20 weeks of the year, with an improved performance in the last 11 weeks supported by better trading conditions. Total sales in the period to May 17 were up 7.4% at £784m. Greggs also left its cost inflation outlook unchanged.
Vodafone reported full-year results in line with expectations on Tuesday, achieving 2025 financial year guidance with organic service revenue growth of 5.1% and strong performance in Africa and Türkiye offsetting declines in Germany. The company recorded a €0.4bn operating loss due to €4.5bn in impairment charges, but returned €3.7bn to shareholders through dividends and buybacks, and announced a new €2bn repurchase programme. Strategic progress included disposals in Spain and Italy, a reshaped footprint ahead of the Three UK merger, and an increased focus on growth markets now contributing two-thirds of adjusted free cash flow.
Newspaper round-up
Hundreds of former sub-postmasters will reportedly be compensated by the Post Office after it accidentally leaked their names and addresses in June 2024. According to the BBC, the Post Office has confirmed that individual payouts will be capped at £5,000 although higher claims may still be pursued. It comes almost a year after 555 victims of the Horizon IT scandal had their personal details published on a website. - Guardian
The number of billionaires in the UK has grown sharply - from 15 in 1990 to 165 in 2024 - at the same time as inequality in the UK's overall wealth distribution has dramatically increased, analysis has found. Timed to coincide with the Sunday Times' rich list, the Equality Trust's investigation also found that billionaires have become "ludicrously" more wealthy, with their average wealth rocketing by more than 1,000% over the same period. - Guardian
Factories face higher taxes under Sir Keir Starmer's EU "reset" deal amid warnings that heavy industry is already being crushed by sky-high energy costs. The Prime Minister has agreed to work with Brussels to link the UK and EU markets for so-called carbon credits, a form of taxation where industrial businesses are charged for any CO2 emissions over an allowed limit. - Telegraph
Rachel Reeves has backed down on plans to reduce the tax-free Isa savings allowance, as she bowed to mounting pressure from the City. The Chancellor has confirmed that she will not change the £20,000 annual limit on Isas, in a move that will benefit millions of savers. - Telegraph
EY's audit of NMC Health before its collapse due to alleged internal fraud was "deficient in multiple respects" and the failings "extremely serious", according to an investigation by the accounting regulator. The provisional findings of a report by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) were referenced in written submissions at the start of the High Court trial against EY, the Big Four accounting firm, on Monday by insolvency practitioners at Alvarez & Marsal, the administrators of NMC, a former FTSE 100 company. - The Times
US close
US stock markets shrugged off a shaky start to finish marginally higher on Monday despite concerns surrounding the impact of a downgrade of the creditworthiness of America's debt.
The late rally came as US bond yields eased, following a strong surge earlier in the session.
The yield on a 10-year US Treasury was down 3 basis points at 4.454% by the close on Wall Street, having jumped 8.2bp to a high of 4.566% when stock markets opened.
As a result, the Dow finished 0.3% higher, the S&P 500 gained 0.1% while the Nasdaq finished broadly flat, with all three indices opening firmly in the red.
For the S&P 500 in particular, this was the index's fifth straight day in positive territory.
Some market participants said that sentiment was being supported by the news that President Trump's tax bill was approved by the House Budget Committee on Sunday.
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