Market Outlook: Markets fall, gold ETFs hit record highs, Lloyds, Shell & more

Underlying earnings at the supermajor were down 60 per cent year-on-year to $3.5bn in the half and 82 per cent for the June quarter, to $638m. A $16.8bn impairment on lower oil prices also saw it record a $23bn pretax loss in the six months to 30 June.

A further impairment charge during the second quarter took the overall amount set aside for bad debts to £3.8bn over the first half of the year, which pushed the lender into a £602m pre-tax loss. The loan book also reduced during the second quarter by £3bn driven by lower mortgage and unsecured lending.

The shares ticked up this morning on the back of strong half-year revenue growth of 12 per cent to $12.6bn, bolstered by good product sales. A $6bn oncology deal with Daiichi Sankyo was revealed earlier this week.

Avoiding Covid-19 shutdowns, the Kazakh miner increased its copper production by 4 per cent and its gold production by 25 per cent in the first half.

Fuller's delayed results revealed an 86 per cent slump in pre-tax profits for its year to 28 March. Almost all of the pub and hotel operator's estate is now open, with coronavirus having made an estimated £10m dent on trading.

The automotive distributor collapsed to an interim pre-tax loss of £188m, attributable to exceptional costs of £198m mostly linked to write downs of retail goodwill and sites.

Underlying operating profit dipped by 11 per cent at constant currencies in the six months to 30 June, to £895m. This came as the Covid-19 pandemic hit demand for certain electronic systems and delayed cost recoveries elsewhere. The interim dividend has been held steady at 9.4p and the deferred 13.8p final dividend for 2019 will now also be paid. Full year underlying EPS is guided to be a “mid-single digit percentage” below the 45.8p seen last year.

Revenue for the year to 31 July is expected to be £217m, a 7 per cent constant currency decline from a year earlier. With the worst impact from Covid-19 seen in April, sales recovered to just a 9 per cent year-on-year shortfall in July. The interim dividend has been cancelled and there will be no final payout either.

Underlying pre-tax profit rose by 3 per cent to £47.9m in the six months to 30 June, aided by higher sales of its Orion radio systems to the US Department of Defence. Statutory pre-tax profit dropped by more than a fifth to £29.8m due to a loss on forward foreign exchange contracts. The interim dividend has been increased to 15.4p and the 39.2p final dividend for 2019 will now also be paid.

Operating profit nosedived by 81 per cent in the first half compared to the same period last year, as coronavirus battered demand in all of the recruiter’s markets.

Pre-tax profits dropped by a third during the first half after taking a $1.5bn credit impairment, although income was boosted 5 per cent, excluding the debit valuation adjustment, thanks to stronger financial markets income.

Adjusted operating profit fell by just over a tenth in the six months to June, as strong trading was held back by the fallout of coronavirus and investments into the rapidly growing AutoSave division.

While revenue from continuing operations was flat at £1.3bn in the six months to 30 June, operating profit dipped by a tenth to £139m thanks to a £23m increase in provisions for bad debt and Covid-19 related costs. Hygiene sales rose by 9 per cent to £293m, with £49m coming from its disinfection services during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Revenues fell by a third during the first half to $303m, with US net revenues down by 42 per cent. Shares in Indivior rocketed after the news last Friday that the group had reached a $600m opioid marketing settlement.