Investing.com -- British stocks dipped on Thursday after early gains, as a busy earnings day saw Unilever (LON:ULVR) report stronger-than-expected growth in first-quarter underlying sales and maintain its full-year 2025 guidance.
The blue-chip index FTSE 100 rose 0.1%. The British pound rose about 0.4% against the dollar to 1.33.
Top gainers include St. James’s Place PLC (LON:SJP) and Croda International PLC (LON:CRDA), while Bunzl (OTC:BZLFY) PLC (LON:BNZL) and HSBC Holdings (NYSE:HSBC) PLC (LON:HSBA) are bottom performers.
Meanwhile, DAX index in Germany gained 0.7%, the CAC 40 in France rose 0.3%.
Company updates
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Anglo American (JO:AGLJ) (LON:AAL) released its Q1 production results, revealing a varied performance across its commodity portfolio, copper output edged above expectations, while refined platinum group metals production came in below forecasts.
- Hikma Pharmaceuticals (OTC:HKMPY) ’ (LON:HIK) shares rose 1% after it said it expects a core operating profit of $730 to $770 million and revenue growth of 7% to 9% for the fiscal year, while noting that its outlook does not factor in any potential impacts from tariffs. The company reiterated group guidance for 2025.
- ASOS (LON:ASOS), the British online fashion retailer reported half-year earnings that exceeded expectations, attributing the success to a reduction in promotional sales. Looking forward said it remains optimistic about further growth and continues to closely watch the changing U.S. tariff situation.
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Weir Group (OTC:WEGRY) ’s (LON:WEIR) shares closed 4.5% higher after 1Q25 trading update showed a 5% year-on-year rise in group orders, with management expecting FY25 trading to align with forecasts while anticipating mitigation of direct tariff effects and continuing to monitor potential indirect impacts.
- Shares of Inchcape (OTC:INCPY) (LON:INCH), the British car distributor, fell over 6% after it revealed a 5% decline in revenue for the first quarter of the year. The company also issued a warning about the potential impact of escalating tariffs on the supply from some vehicle manufacturers.
- Revolut, the British fintech company reported a record annual net profit of £1.1 billion ($1.5 billion) for 2024, marking a 149% year-over-year surge and crossing the $1 billion threshold for the first time, driven by its expanding suite of digital banking services.
FCA aims to ease regulatory burden
Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has outlined plans to streamline regulations governing the reserve funds investment firms must hold.
These funds help absorb losses during market stress, and the proposed revisions aim to cut administrative tasks by up to 70%.
CEO share sale drags Wood Group stock lower
John Wood Group PLC (LON:WG) shares dropped more than 7% following news that CEO Ken Gilmartin had offloaded part of his stake in the company.
A regulatory filing published late Wednesday showed Gilmartin sold 12,792 shares on April 22.