Britain’s biggest pizza delivery firm, Domino’s Pizza (DMO), will beat market forecasts after a firm third quarter showing improvement in its UK backyard. Shares in the company leap 10% to 333p as investors welcome the news.
Consensus had been pitched at £89.9m of pre-tax profit for the year to 31 December 2017, on £433m of revenue.
British recruiter Robert Walters (RWA) has raised its full year profit forecast for a second time after it reported a 22% jump in quarterly net fee income to a record high. The company delivers an overall £90.7m figure, with international growth particularly strong, lifting shares in the business by 6% to 580p.
PUBS RETHINK
British pub operator Marston’s (MARS) plans to open fewer pubs, bars and lodges next year due to subdued market conditions. The company has had a tough summer this year prompting a rethink of its taverns and inns operations. Shares in the company rally close on 3% on the news, to 107.2p.
Trendy high Street fashion chain Ted Baker (TED) enjoyed a good first half with both sales and profit up. Total revenues rose 14% to £295m while pre-tax profit jumped 18% to £25.3m.
British shoppers increased their spending in September at the fastest pace so far in 2017, excluding an Easter-related surge in April. But much of the rise reflected higher prices for food and clothing after the Brexit vote, a survey shows.
Activist investor Elliott has reportedly embarked on an international tour of BHP Billiton’s (BLT) biggest shareholders as it presses ahead with its campaign to force a radical shake-up of the FTSE 100 mining giant.
COSTA IN CHINA
Britain’s Whitbread (WTB) says its coffee chain Costa has taken full control of its South China joint venture, buying out its 49% partner Yueda Group.
Mining company Vedanta Resources (VED) says mined metal production at its Indian zinc unit rose 42% in the first half, boosted by higher ore production across all its mines. But the stock fails to move much, nudging 4p lower to 901p.
There’s also news from its Cairn Oil and Gas arm, which plans to invest 300bn rupees (about £3.5bn) in exploration projects off India’s east coast and in the onshore fields of Barmer in the west.
Elsewhere, car insurance premiums in Britain fell by an average of 1.1% in the third quarter of 2017. That’s the largest quarterly fall in more than three years, according to the Confused.com car insurance price index and Willis Towers Watson.
