After US markets traded at all-time highs yesterday, and Asian stocks surfed to 18-month highs earlier, it was the turn of UK stocks to take up the running.
However screens were red at the open after prime minister Boris Johnson appeared to rule out any extension to the December 2020 Brexit deadline. The FTSE 100 index of leading stocks fell 0.3% at 7,498 while the FTSE 250 index dropped 0.8% to 21,744..
Consumer-goods giant Unilever (ULVR) cut its 2019 sales growth forecast to ‘slightly below its (previous) guidance of the lower half of its 3% to 5% multi-year range’. In other words sales are likely to have grown by less than 3% this year.
The company blamed ‘challenges’ in the fourth quarter including slower growth in South Asia, one of its largest markets, and ‘difficult’ trading conditions in West Africa. At the same time trading in developed markets ‘continues to be challenging’.
Sales growth in the first half of next year is also expected to be below 3% with the firm pinning its hopes on a second-half recovery. Shares dropped 4% to £44.44.
There was happier news from oil and gas services firm Petrofac (PFC) which indicated that full-year trading was in line with guidance and it expected to report ‘good results’.
Chief executive Ayman Asfari said he was ‘encouraged by the improving market outlook and our busy tendering pipeline, with US$39 billion of bid opportunities scheduled for award by the end of 2020 in both core and growth markets’. Despite the upbeat message, shares drifted 3% lower to 389p.
Business services group Bunzl (BNZL) released a fairly pedestrian trading update for the year to the end of December with revenues seen up by between 2% and 3% in line with previous guidance.
The company blamed the sluggish top-line performance on ‘continued mixed macroeconomic and market conditions across the countries and sectors in which the Group operates’.
It also announced the acquisition of an Australian safety and emergency response business. So far this year Bunzl has spent £120m on acquisitions to try to nudge revenues upwards and kick-start growth. Shares gave up 0.8% to £20.78.
Online travel-ticket platform Trainline (TRN) announced an 18% increase in nine-month ticket sales to £2.85bn and a 26% increase in its own revenues to £198m.
UK consumer sales were strong, up 24% to £1.54bn, while international sales jumped by 49% to £390m despite recent strike action in France. After sharp gains yesterday and on Friday, shares took a breather down 1.7% at 501p.
Investment company Hipgnosis (SONG) revealed it had acquired a music catalogue from Grammy Award-winning producer Brendan O’Brien who has worked with Bruce Springsteen, The Killers, Pearl Jam and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Shares marked time at 108p.
