AO World backs FY expectations, Halma boosts FY targets
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Thursday 24 Sep 2026
(Sharecast News) - London open
The FTSE 100 was called to open around 30 points lower.
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AO World backed its full-year expectations as the online electricals retailer said it continued to perform strongly between 1 April and 30 September, with year-on-year revenue expected to be up 5.5% and pre-tax profit set to be more than 20% higher at around £21.5m. "This reflects the underlying strength of the business, with operational improvements in our Mobile and musicMagpie businesses," it said. "Whilst this performance represents a strong first half of the year, our full year profit expectations remain unchanged, reflecting both planned strategic investments, including our ERP programme, and a more challenging comparative environment in the second half."
Safety equipment and life-saving tech specialist Halma boosted its full-year targets on Thursday, following a robust first half. Updating on trading, the blue chip said it had made "strong progress" and broad-based growth despite economic, geopolitical and market uncertainty. As a result, it reiterated guidance for low double-digit percentage organic revenue growth on a constant currency basis, and boosted margin targets. It now expects the adjusted earnings before interest and tax margin to be around 23.5% to 24%, up for previous full-year guidance for 22.7%.
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Defence contractors have promised to create 40,000 apprenticeships, work experience placements and jobs for young people each year, as Wes Streeting claimed to be overseeing a "ministry for growth". Labour is keen to demonstrate that the rapid increase in defence spending planned for the coming years, which may necessitate tax rises, will result in jobs in the UK. - Guardian
Bentley is launching its first fully electric car - complete with a drum soundtrack to replace the growl of a combustion engine - as part of a £350m investment in its UK business. The vehicle, an SUV called the Torcal, is Bentley's cheapest, starting at £173,000, and will be built at its factory in Crewe, securing the jobs of the 4,000 workers there. - Guardian
England's first new reservoir in 30 years is expected to be delayed, raising concerns about water shortages. Havant Thicket reservoir, in Hampshire, secured planning permission for construction in 2021, and was scheduled for completion in 2029. However, regulator Ofwat said on Wednesday that the project, which is a joint venture between Portsmouth Water and Southern Water, would not be completed until 2034 after it paused the scheme because of rising costs. - Telegraph
A venture capital fund set up by Henry Dimbleby, the co-founder of Leon, has secured £20 million from Tesco and a commitment to be its anchor partner as it attempts to transform Britain's food system through "bold" new innovations. Bramble Partners, which launched in early 2024, targets companies with "ideas capable of creating real impact" on food in areas including healthier eating, affordability and climate change. - The Times
McDonald's is betting on AI drive-thru restaurants, fast-food chicken and an $8.5 billion fund to help modernise restaurants as it battles to recapture customers and reverse a sliding share price. The world's biggest burger chain set out ambitious new goals as part of a growth plan unveiled at an investor day in Chicago. Central to those plans is a target of expanding its share of the cooked chicken market - nuggets, bowls and burgers - by 1.5 percentage points, to take about 20 per cent of the total global market. - The Times
US close
US stocks finished firmly lower on Wednesday as a bond sell-off sapped investor appetite for equities, with the yield on a 10-year Treasury note hitting its highest in nearly two decades.
The 10-year US Treasury yield was up 14.6 basis points at 5.116%, hitting its highest since July 2007 after oil prices abruptly snapped a five-day losing streak. Brent crude settled 3.9% higher at $103.08 a barrel, while WTI rose 1.8% to $92.16.
The Dow fell 0.7% and the S&P 500 slipped 0.8%, while the Nasdaq - which had hit another record closing high on Tuesday - pulled back 1.1%.
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