Market Outlook: FTSE and sterling wobble despite GDP bump, ITV, Rolls Royce, B&M & more

The group is set to raise its desired £2bn from a rights issue. It received acceptances for 94.2 per cent of the shares on offer and the underwriters will now procure subscribers for the remaining shares.

Revenues jumped by a quarter to £2.2bn in the first half compared to the same period last year, as consumers flocked to buy bargains with the value retailer. Management has bumped up the interim dividend by more than half to 4.3 pence per share, and has announced a special dividend of 25 pence per share.

Revenue increased by 5 per cent year-on-year in the four months to 31 October to £1bn. This came amid strong demand from the residential repair, maintenance and improvement (RMI) markets in the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands, and for DIY products from its Woodie’s business. These higher margin sales have boosted gross margins and Grafton is now guiding to a second half adjusted operating profit of £130m-140m. This would be up to a third higher than the second half of 2019.

Sales in October were 5 per cent ahead of last year reflecting strong demand from the domestic market and a return to more normal levels of trading from public sector and commercial customers. Having repaid all furlough support, net debt (excluding lease liabilities) has come down by more than a fifth since the end of June to £43m.

Asset manager DBAY Advisors has agreed to buy a 29 per cent stake in the company by purchasing shares from executive chairman Alan Sellers, Bond Turner managing director Samantha Moss and sales director Valentina Slater. Paying 150p per share, DBAY will have the right to appoint up to three non-executive directors to the board who will have to give majority consent for any acquisition, disposal or debt financing decisions. Anexo says it will “work closely with DBAY to continue the expansion of its Credit Hire and Legal Services divisions.”

The group expects revenue for the six months to 31 October will rise by almost a fifth year-on-year to £300m. This is thanks to strong growth from e-fulfilment logistics as the shift to online shopping continues and the commencement of new contracts. Net debt (excluding lease liabilities) has shrunk by 38 per cent since the April year-end to £28m, equivalent to less than 1 times cash profits (Ebitda).

Half-year figures detail pandemic-linked effects, including a 14 per cent fall in underlying EPS and a 12 per cent decline in underlying operating profit. An interim dividend of 17p a share has been announced

The asset management-life insurance giant today mounted a defense of its performance record and set out a five-year plan to grow cash, earnings and surplus generation through an ESG-led strategy. After a 'pause' this year, progressive dividend rises are expected from 2021, suggesting the high-yield remains safe.

A full-year pre-tax loss of £69m may have been slightly better than analyst expectations, but the group is now back to significant cash burn under a second UK lockdown.

After passing on the full impact of this year's base rate cut to its savers, the specialist lender managed to improve its underlying net interest margin for the three months to September. Hopes to soon return to dividends and no change in economic assumptions will also cheer investors.

The pub and hotel operator fell into an interim pre-tax loss of £21.8m, compared with profits of £24.3m over the same period last year. Trading in the group's managed estate had picked up following the reopening of the sector earlier in the year despite ongoing limits such as social distancing, sitting at nearly three-quarters of last year's activity until all of Young's pubs were closed by fresh restrictions.

Burberry's interim pre-tax profits more than halved to £73m compared with first-half profits of £193m in 2019. Over a tenth of its stores are currently closed due to pandemic restrictions across the globe. The shuttering of 60 per cent of stores in April contributed to an increased free cash outflow of £45m, compared with a £29m outflow in last year's first half.

NWF shares resumed trading this morning after the animal feed and fuel producer announced that it had contained a cyber incident announced on 2 November, which prompted the temporary suspension of its shares. NWF shares fell by almost a tenth upon their resumption of trading this morning.

The travel operator has continued its recovery this year, generating around 70 per cent of last year's revenue in October compared with approximately 60 per cent in August. National Express has resumed providing guidance and expects cash profits between £170m to £190m for 2020.

Apollo Global Management has indicated that it could consider returning to the table for William Hill, should the gambling company's expected merger with Caesars Entertainment fall through. Apollo said that it is not currently intending to make an offer for the business, however.

Revenue for the six months to 30 September jumped by almost a quarter year-on-year to £603m, boosted by the acquisitions of MTEQ and NSC. Underlying operating profit rose by 16 per cent to £69m. The group has increased its full year guidance, now expecting “low double-digit” revenue growth versus “low single-digit” growth previously. The final 4.1p dividend has been reinstated and QinetiQ will also hand shareholders a 2.2p interim dividend.

Pre-tax profits this year are on track to be at the top-end of the £130m-£140m guidance range, which should climb to £310m if the market remains stable - a big 'if'. But management intends to resume dividend payments at next year's interim-mark.

While the North Sea producer is insulated by its takeover by Crysaor, it still had bad production news to give shareholders on Thursday, with 2020 guidance cut and net debt up as of 30 October. Guidance is now 61,000-64,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) from 65,000-70,000boepd because of problems at the Catcher asset. Net debt is up to $2.1bn (£1.6bn) from $1.97bn at mid-year.

The regulatory software provider expects adjusted cash profits to grow by around a quarter to £10m in the first half compared to the same period last year, in a sign that its revenue growth has not lost momentum.

Operating profit dropped by more than half to £64m in the six months ended in September, as lockdown blew a hole in the group’s revenues in April. Demand for elective procedures has started to recover, but management is still cautious on the outlook for 2021.