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(Alliance News) - The following is a summary of top news stories Wednesday.
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COMPANIES
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ASOS's annual profit multiplied and its revenue jumped almost 20%, the online retailer said, as it shrugged off "performance issues" from last year. But despite the boom in earnings, the company kept a lid on expectations for the new year and beyond, owing to economic uncertainty, particularly affecting its target market of young adults. ASOS said pretax profit in the year that ended August 31 multiplied to GBP142.1 million from GBP33.1 million. About GBP50 million in a "non-strategic" costs were not repeated in the most recent financial year, ASOS noted, as an efficiency drive "exceeded our initial expectations". The company added it has made a "solid start" to the new year but is tempering expectations for now given the uncertainty caused by Covid-19 and the "economic prospects and lifestyles of 20-somethings" being set for disruption.
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Barratt Developments said it is seeing continuing strong customer demand for new homes across the UK and says it is well-positioned to weather any challenges. The housebuilder said its sales rate from July 1 to October 11 was 0.87 net private reservations per active outlet per average week, up 21% year-on-year from 0.72. The company operated from an average of 340 active outlets, down from 374 a year prior, due to site delays caused by Covid-19. Barratt has launched 33 new developments, including joint ventures, helping completion volume recovery which is expected. Barratt is now focused on rebuilding its completion volumes to its medium-term target and capacity of 20,000 homes.
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Just Eat Takeaway.com said order growth accelerated in the third quarter, leading to a widening gap to its competition in key countries, including the UK and Canada. The coronavirus pandemic and the resultant movement restrictions has led to a sharp rise in online food orders, benefiting online takeaway platforms such as Just Eat Takeaway.com. Just Eat Takeaway.com said 46% more orders were placed in the third quarter of 2020 than a year earlier, due to strong demand in online orders as a result of coronavirus social distancing measures in restaurants. Total orders for the quarter stood at 151.4 million versus 103.6 million a year ago. Year-to-date order growth was 37% at 408.3 million.
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Bunzl said continued growth in the sales of Covid-19 related products, such as masks and sanitisers, offset a drop in sales of other products during the third quarter of 2020. The company also said it expects revenue in the second half of 2020 to grow strongly at constant exchange rates and a slightly higher second half operating profit margin compared to the prior year, reflecting the year-to-date performance and recent acquisitions. Bunzl recorded 4% growth in third-quarter reported revenue and 8.0% growth in underlying revenue at constant exchange rates, reflecting continued growth in the sale of Covid-19 related products. Looking forward, Bunzl expects an uncertain outlook mainly due to current coronavirus pandemic trends and reintroduction of movement restrictions in some markets, limiting recovery. It also estimates a limited number of larger Covid-19 related orders.
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Pearson said it has seen a decline in sales every quarter this year, with the second quarter taking the biggest knock but the third quarter seeing improvement. Global online learning remains on the rise, it added. The publishing and education company based in Cambridge said that for the first nine months of the year group sales declined by 14%, reflecting the impact of Covid-19. The second quarter was hit hardest, with sales shrinking by 28%. The third quarter saw sales shrink by 10%, showing an improving trend. Pearson said it is on track to deliver an outturn broadly in line with market expectations but acknowledged that uncertainties remained, particularly internationally.
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MARKETS
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London shares were mostly higher with the internationally-exposed FTSE 100 index helped by weakness in the pound. Just Eat Takeaway was the best blue-chip performer, up 5.0%. ASOS was weighing on AIM, down 8.5%. Wall Street was pointed to a higher open with banks Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and Wells Fargo set to report earnings before the market open in New York.
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FTSE 100: up 0.3% at 5,989.67
FTSE 250: up 0.4% at 17,969.90
AIM ALL-SHARE: down 0.4% at 985.27
GBP: down at USD1.2947 (USD1.2978)
EUR: down at USD1.1732 (USD1.1741)
GOLD: up at USD1,897.51 per ounce (USD1,890.88)
OIL (Brent): flat at USD42.34 a barrel (USD42.30)
(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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A "circuit-breaker" lockdown could save thousands of lives by the end of the year, scientists advising the government have calculated, as pressure mounts on UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to impose stricter restrictions. As the three-tier Covid alert level system comes into force across England, Johnson is facing calls to go further by introducing a fortnight of nationwide curbs to bring the coronavirus resurgence under control, PA reports. Downing Street is understood to be keeping the idea on the table, after Labour leader Keir Starmer said a two to three-week national lockdown over the October half term was needed to prevent a "sleepwalk into a long and bleak winter". A paper by members of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies reportedly calculates that more than 7,000 lives could be saved if schools are closed and people are ordered to stay at home from October 24 for two weeks.
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UK PM Johnson will speak to the president of the European Commission on Wednesday afternoon as his deadline for progress in post-Brexit trade talks draws near. Johnson is expected to discuss progress in the negotiations with Ursula von der Leyen ahead of Thursday's summit of EU leaders. Johnson wants to know if a trade deal is possible by Thursday, when the leaders of the 27 EU countries meet in Brussels. He told Cabinet ministers on Tuesday that he still believes an agreement can be reached – but that failing to do so should hold "no fear", his official spokesman said. Michel Barnier, the EU's lead negotiator, has suggested that talks will go beyond Johnson's October deadline.
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The eurozone's industrial production slowed on a monthly basis in August, the latest figures from Eurostat showed. On an annual basis, the eurozone's industrial production declined by 7.2% in August, following a revised 7.1% contraction in July. The reading was in line with the market forecast cited by FXStreet. On a monthly basis, industrial output rose by 0.7% in August, slowing sharply from an upwardly revised figure of 5.0% growth in July. The reading was just shy of the 0.8% market estimate.
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