UK news & headlines
Latest breaking stories, features and analysis
- IHG’s profit slumps 82% in the fiscal H1 due to COVID-19.
- The hospitality company slashes its workforce by 10%.
- The British firm sees slight improvement in RevPAR in July.
Latest UK news
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (LON: HIK) said on Friday that demand for its injectable products was strong in recent months. Consequently, its pre-tax profit in the first six months of the fiscal year jumped 21%. The company also upgraded its guidance on Friday for its generics and injectables divisions. Hikma Pharmaceuticals issued £382 million worth of Eurobonds last week due in 2025. Shares of the company gained roughly 5.5% in premarket trading on Fr...
Standard Life Aberdeen (LON: SLA) revealed to have swung to a loss in the fiscal first half on Friday. The company attributed its dovish performance to the Coronavirus pandemic that resulted in higher costs in recent months. Shares of the company remained almost flat in premarket trading but have gained roughly 1% on Friday so far. At 266 pence per share, Standard Life Aberdeen is currently more than 20% down year to date in the stock market afte...
Rightmove plc (LON: RMV) said on Friday that its pre-tax profit in the first half (H1) of the current fiscal year came in 43% lower. It attributed the decline to the Coronavirus pandemic that pushed the UK housing market into a temporary shut down in recent months. Rightmove announced to have hired a new CFO on £1.75 million package earlier this week. Shares of the company were almost flat in premarket trading on Friday but jumped more than 8% on...
Hargreaves Lansdown (LON: HL) said on Friday that its annual earnings came in stronger on a year over year basis due to the Coronavirus pandemic that fuelled share trading in recent months. Its trading platform, consequently, registered thousand of new clients. Shares of the company jumped about 2% in premarket trading on Friday and gained another 3% on market open. Hargreaves Lansdown is currently trading at £19.08 per share. In comparison, the...
Aviva plc (LON: AV) said on Thursday that its net profit in the first half (H1) of the current fiscal year came in lower on a year over year basis. The company revealed the Coronavirus pandemic to have fuelled general insurance claims in recent months that it valued at £165 million in H1. According to Aviva: “Claims are primarily as a result of disruption to business and travel insured by the group, partially offset by a reduction in the frequenc...
ITV plc (LON: ITV) said on Thursday that its revenue from advertising came in 21% lower in the first half (H1) of the current fiscal year. The company attributed its dovish performance to the Coronavirus pandemic that weighed on demand for production and advertisements. Consequently, its pre-tax profit slumped by an unparalleled 93%. Shares of the company tanked less than 1% in premarket trading on Thursday. The stock, however, declined by anothe...
Glencore plc (LON: GLEN) said on Thursday that it concluded the first six months of the current fiscal year in loss as the Coronavirus pandemic weighed on performance, and lower prices resulted in significant impairments. Glencore registered £14.96 billion of net debt that topped the expected £7.59 billion to £12.15 billion range. Shares of the company opened about 2% down on Thursday and tanked another 1.5% in the next hour. Glencore is currentl...
Legal & General (LON: LGEN) said on Wednesday that its operating profit in the first half (H1) of the current fiscal year came in 2% lower at £1.13 billion attributed to the Coronavirus pandemic. Previously L&G expressed plans of issuing debt in June. Shares of the company opened about 3% down on Wednesday and tanked another 1% in the next hour. At 217 pence per share, Legal & General is currently 30% down year to date in the stock ma...
Metro Bank (LON: MTRO) revealed to have swung to a loss of £240 million in the first half (H1) of the current fiscal year on Wednesday. The company attributed the decline to higher loan loss provisions due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Combined with lower transaction fees, the pandemic resulted in a £109 million hit for Metro Bank in H1. Shares of the company opened more than 3% down on Wednesday and tanked another 10% in the next hour. At 107 pen...
Direct Line (LON: DLG) said on Tuesday that its first-half profit came in stronger than expected as motor claims dropped significantly in recent months due to COVID-19 that pushed Britons into driving less. In separate news from the United Kingdom, engineering group Babcock International reported a 40% decline in its first-quarter profit on Tuesday. Shares of the company opened about 7% up on Tuesday and jumped another 2% in the next hours. At 33...
Centamin plc (LON: CEY) said on Tuesday that its pre-tax profit in the first half (H1) of the current fiscal year came in higher than expected. The gold miner attributed the increase to its Sukari mine (Egypt). It also said that the Coronavirus pandemic fuelled safe-haven demand that pushed bullion prices higher in recent months which also contributed to higher profit. Shares of the company opened about 1.5% up on Tuesday but tanked 7% in the nex...
Diageo plc (LON: DGE) said that its pre-tax profit for fiscal 2020 came in over 50% lower on Tuesday. The company also highlighted COVID-19 to have weighed heavily on its net sales. Diageo’s board declared 42.47 pence of final dividend on Tuesday. Shares of the company opened about 5% down on Tuesday and tanked another 1.5% in the next hour. At £27.27 per share, Diageo is currently more than 10% down year to date in the stock market after recover...
Societe Generale (EPA: GLE) revealed its loss to have ballooned to £1.14 billion in the second quarter on Monday. The French bank said that COVID-19 fuelled loan losses in the fiscal second quarter that resulted in £588.29 million in provisions. Shares of the bank opened about 2.5% down on Monday and tanked another 0.5% in later hours. At £11.41 per share, Societe Generale is currently about 60% down year to date in the stock market. Learn more a...
HSBC Holdings plc (LON: HSBA) said on Monday that its net profit in the first six months of the fiscal year came in lower as compared to the same period last year. The company attributed the decline to the Coronavirus pandemic that fuelled loan losses in recent months. Shares of the company opened about 4% down on Monday and tanked another 2% in later hours. At 326 pence per share, HSBC is currently 45% down year to date in the stock market that...
Hiscox (LON: HSX) said on Monday that it swung to a loss in the first half (H1) of the current fiscal year. The company attributed the decline to the Coronavirus pandemic that cancelled holidays and sports events in recent months. COVID-19 has so far infected more than 300,000 people in the United Kingdom and caused over 46,000 deaths. Shares of the company opened more than 2% down on Monday and tanked another 5% in the next hour. At 738 pence pe...
Senior plc (LON: SNR) revealed to have swung to a net loss in the first half (H1) of the ongoing financial year on Monday. The company attributed the decline to the Coronavirus pandemic that weighed on demand in recent months. It also added the Boeing 737 MAX grounding had a significant impact on its financial performance. Senior is a prominent supplier for Boeing and heavy equipment manufacturer, Caterpillar. Its board decided in favour of suspe...
British American Tobacco (LON: BATS) said on Friday that its profit in the first half (H1) of the current fiscal year came in higher. The company reported a decline in volume, but it was offset by cost cuts and higher demand for pricey items. Shares of the company tanked more than 5% on Friday. Closing at £25.24 per share, British American Tobacco is currently more than 15% down year to date in the stock market after recovering from an even lower...