Less travel at Hogg Robinson

European business travel is understandably slow given the economic backdrop in the region, and chief executive David Radcliffe expects the "tough conditions" to continue for the rest of the year. The European corporate travel division reported revenue down 7 per cent to £233m, but tight cost control improved underlying operating profit by 11 per cent to £35.6m. North America was the hardest hit region as a Canadian banking client moved services online resulting in lower revenues and profits. In Asia Pacific, the Australian mining slowdown led to a double-digit revenue decline across the group's operations and a slide into losses. Part of the shortfall was made up by expense management systems developer, Spendvision, which reported underlying operating profits up by £1m to £3.4m. Revenues rose a fifth, buoyed by demand from financial services clients.

Canaccord Genuity cut forecasts by 13-18 per cent due to IAS 19 pension accounting and now expects current year adjusted pre-tax profits of £36.5m and EPS of 8.1p, down from £38.3m and 8.6p in 2013.