FTSE 250 movers: Bodycote surges; Tariffs put brakes on Aston Martin
By Frank Prenesti
Date: Wednesday 30 Jul 2025
(Sharecast News) - FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,738.15 -0.25%
Bodycote surged as it backed its full-year outlook and extended its share buyback by another £30m.
Bodycote said revenues had dipped 7.5% to £369m, weighed down by weakness in the automotive and industrial segments and delivery timing in its high-margin specialist technologies arm. Adjusted operating profits fell 17.5% to £55.1m, though statutory profits rebounded sharply thanks to lower one-offs.
Earnings per share were down 14.8% on an adjusted basis but up 52% on statutory terms, while free cash flow came in lighter at £18.0m, reflecting lower earnings and spend linked to its ongoing "Optimise" restructuring programme.
Despite near-term headwinds, Bodycote stuck to its FY guidance of operating profits between £115.7m and £123m, and pointed to a stronger H2 performance, driven by aerospace tailwinds, the ramp-up of new contracts, and further benefits from Optimise.
The FTSE 250-listed firm also raised its profits target for the programme to at least £15m, up from £12m to £14m, with site disposals helping fund expansion at a lower cost than initially expected.
CEO Jim Fairbairn said: "Trading has been in line with our expectations following our May update. Demand is strong in industrial gas turbines, as well as in aerospace and defence where supply chain conditions are improving. Automotive and industrial markets remain weak but saw modest improvement versus a soft second half of 2024.
"While the macro environment remains uncertain, we expect higher profit in the second half underpinned by Optimise benefits, continued recovery in aerospace, and improved specialist technologies performance as we deliver new contract wins."
Wizz Air flew higher after an upgrade to 'buy' at Deutsche Bank.
Aston Martin fell as it downgraded its full-year profit outlook, pointing to disruption from US tariffs.
In its results for the six months to 30 June, the luxury car maker said it now expects full-year adjusted earnings before interest and tax to improve towards breakeven.
Aston Martin still expects to deliver "modest" wholesale volume growth in FY 2025 compared with the prior year, while the gross margin is expected to be broadly in line.
"Whilst the impact of the recently announced US tariffs on the global economy remains uncertain, several factors have been reflected in a slight revision to some of the group's FY 2025 guidance," it said.
"These include the impact from foreign exchange rates movements, increased investment in software and infotainment enhancements and the group's decisive action to support its dealers in China to reduce stock levels prior to future market improvements."
For the first half, Aston Martin posted a pre-tax loss of £140.8m versus a loss of £216.7m in the same period a year earlier, while adjusted EBIT declined 22% to £121.5m. Revenue was 25% lower at £454.4m and total wholesale volumes dipped 4% to 1,922.
Chief executive Adrian Hallmark said: "The evolving and disruptive U.S. tariff situation was unhelpful to our operations in Q2. In response, we adjusted production and limited imports through April and May while awaiting confirmation of a trade agreement between the UK and the US, leveraging existing inventory held by our US dealers in that period.
"We resumed shipments to the US in June in anticipation of a finalised agreement which came into effect on 30 June 2025. We continue to actively engage the UK government to urge them to improve the quota mechanism to ensure fair access for the whole UK car industry to the 10% rate on an ongoing basis."
RHI Magnesita lowered its full-year profit guidance on Wednesday, after reporting a steep drop in earnings for the first half of 2025, as deferred industrial projects, weaker pricing, and cost pressures weighed on margins.
The FTSE 250 refractory products group posted adjusted EBITA of €141m for the six months ended 30 June, down 26% from the prior year, with revenues slipping 3% to €1.68bn.
Adjusted earnings per share fell 47% to €1.37.
The EBITA margin narrowed to 9.4%, down 260 basis points, as lower industrial activity and unfavourable product mix took their toll.
The company said the downturn in demand was particularly acute in its industrial division, where revenues from glass and non-ferrous metals projects dropped 40% and 22% respectively.
Customers also shifted towards lower-value products during a period of low capacity utilisation, intensifying pressure on margins.
Meanwhile, steel demand was described as "low but stable," with positive growth prospects in India and North America offset by structural decline in Europe.
"RHI Magnesita continues to navigate an extremely challenging external market environment with cyclically lower industrial project business, uncertainty caused by tariff negotiations, FX headwinds, aggressive competition and continued weak end market demand all contributing to sharply lower margins in the first half of 2025," said chief executive Stefan Borgas.
"Notwithstanding these external factors, we are disappointed with our financial performance and we are determined to take the urgent and necessary steps to deliver improvements."
The group was now guiding for full-year adjusted EBITA of between €370m and €390m, down from a previous market consensus of €406 million.
That implied a second-half uplift of up to €249m, driven by the phasing of deferred orders, price increases, higher steel volumes, and cost savings from plant closures and synergies.
RHI Magnesita said up to €120m of EBITA improvement is expected in the second half, including €50m from the resumption of non-ferrous metals projects and €30m from price rises, primarily in the steel business.
The company said it was also targeting €20m in additional steel volume, €10m in sales, general and administrative savings, and €10m in benefits from recently closed German plants.
Synergies from the Resco acquisition and ongoing network optimisation initiatives are expected to contribute further.
Adjusted operating cash flow fell 21% to €175m, though cash conversion remained strong at 124% of adjusted EBITA.
Net debt rose to €1.58bn, or 3.1 times pro forma EBITDA, due in part to the €390m acquisition of Resco earlier this year.
Management said it expected gearing to fall to around 2.8x by year-end.
An interim dividend of 60 euro cents per share was declared, unchanged from last year.
Despite headwinds, the group reported resilient sales volumes in both divisions on a merger and acquisition-adjusted basis, with growth in India, China, and the US.
It also announced a new US recycling joint venture with BPI as part of its strategy to expand in higher-growth geographies.
However, Borgas acknowledged that market conditions remained difficult, saying the company was "taking urgent and necessary steps" to improve performance.
Market Movers
FTSE 250 - Risers
Bodycote (BOY) 638.00p 11.44%
Big Yellow Group (BYG) 936.00p 3.20%
Hill and Smith (HILS) 2,050.00p 2.24%
Sirius Real Estate Ltd. (SRE) 104.90p 2.24%
Bytes Technology Group (BYIT) 359.20p 2.16%
Chemring Group (CHG) 547.00p 1.67%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,235.00p 1.65%
Lion Finance Group (BGEO) 7,655.00p 1.59%
Investec (INVP) 560.50p 1.54%
Carnival (CCL) 2,051.00p 1.43%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 72.05p -8.51%
RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 2,695.00p -8.02%
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 246.00p -3.53%
Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 611.00p -3.02%
CMC Markets (CMCX) 228.50p -2.97%
WH Smith (SMWH) 1,022.00p -2.76%
Pantheon Infrastructure (PINT) 99.60p -2.35%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 179.30p -2.29%
Keller Group (KLR) 1,332.00p -2.20%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 270.00p -2.17%
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