The owners of a range of DIY store brands including B&Q and Screwfix reported interim earnings this morning and investors were quick to latch onto the upbeat tone. Market share is growing in the UK & Ireland as well as Poland and there’s optimism that a recovery in the UK’s residential property market will help bolster the business’s fortunes in 2025 and beyond. Additionally, whilst headline sales may be off slightly, the combination of margin improvements plus upward revisions in the outlook for the full year rounded off a compelling update. Kingfisher shares were up around 7% before 9am.
FTSE-250 listed manufacturing play Essentra issued a trading update this morning which truly rattled sentiment. Half year results published at the end of July had forecast that trading would improve but a weaker than expected macroeconomic backdrop has evidently taken a toll. Full year adjusted operating profits are now expected to be in the £40m-£42m range, almost 20% lower than had been stated previously. The Essentra share price was down by almost 25% in early trade although a modest recovery off the lows has been seen since.
The small cap AV solutions provider MediaZest provided an upbeat statement to the market this morning, noting that strong demand amongst existing clients for digital signage had served to deliver more than £500k worth of new business over the last two months. The uptick is seen as providing added confidence for the business meeting full year targets and aiding the drive to return to profitability. The MediaZest share price was up by more than 30% shortly after the opening bell.
Headlines we expect to see on Wednesday
M&C Saatchi Interim Results
This time last year Revenues £120.4m, Pre tax profit £8.8m, Net cash £15.4m
MJ Gleeson Final Results
This time last year Homes sold 1723, Total revenue £328.3m, Dividend 14p
