There is the whiff of a hangover for investors this morning as European shares stumbled after an exuberant rally in the previous session that left the major bourses around 2-3 per cent higher to start the week. We haven’t made it back to the key mid-September levels and bulls may be looking at downside risks in the shape of the slowing economic recovery and pre-election jitters. Nancy Pelosi and Steve Mnuchin may be able to cut one last stimulus deal before the election, but it still looks like the odds of it passing the House and Senate are less than evens. The FTSE 100 and DAX both fell 1 per cent and the failure by bulls to build any momentum from these one-day bounces is a sign of tepid sentiment.
UK Company Announcements
| AA (AA.) | With Platinum Equity no longer a prospective suitor, the breakdown/insurance group has released interim figures showing a 38 per cent reduction in both pre-tax profits and EPS. The group has suspended the interim dividend and expects that full-year performance will be “only slightly below that of the prior year”. |
| Greggs (GRG) | Greggs missed out on the August 'Eat Out to Help Out' scheme owing to its lack of seating, and admitted it was a "challenging" month. Since reopening and until 26 September, Greggs' sales have averaged at 71.2 per cent of last year's levels. But job losses look likely, with a consultation underway. |
| Hotel Chocolat (HOTC) | Hotel Chocolat recorded a full-year loss of £6.5m, incurring £10m in impairments over the period, most of which were linked to the coronavirus pandemic. The company has launched a partnership with The Hut Group's (THG) technology platform, Ingenuity, which will help Hotel Chocolat penetrate the US market. |
| B&M European Value Retail (BME) | B&M carried its strong start to the year into its second quarter, registering sales growth of 19.1 per cent. The retailer upgraded adjusted cash profit guidance to around £285m, from a previous range of £250-270m. B&M also now expects to make as many as 45 net store openings this year. |
| Pendragon (PDG) | Car retailer Pendragon today announced delayed half-year results that disclosed a £52m pre-tax loss, which was an improvement on last year's interim loss of £134.6m. But revenues were slashed by half as a result of the pandemic, falling to £1.22bn. |
| Alfa Financial Software (ALFA) | Pre-tax profits nearly doubled to £10.1m in the first half, which has prompted the financial software company to declare a special dividend of 15p per share. Shares jumped 15 per cent in morning trading. |
| Card Factory (CARD) | Card Factory revenues fell by almost a half during its interim period to £100.5m, pushing the retailer into a pre-tax loss of £22.2m. The retailer did manage to grow online sales by almost two thirds thanks to lockdown and a successful website launch, while it continues to search for a new chief executive, after Karen Hubbard stepped down in June. |
| Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB1) | Pre-tax profits for the full year are expected to be significantly ahead of market expectations following a surge in activity within the UK housing market. However, the mortgage brokerage will only pay a final dividend in respect of the 2020 financial year, eschewing an interim dividend. |
| Grainger (GRI) | Rental growth came in at 3 per cent for the 11 months to the end of August, representing 2.5 per cent like-for-like growth in the private rented sector portfolio and 4.7 per cent for the regulated tenancy business. Cash collections of rent remained robust at 95 per cent. |