果冻传媒

Watches of Switzerland (WOSG) raised its annual sales guidance after its US business continued to grow in the third quarter. Profit growth may not follow, however, after the luxury watch retailer also trimmed its margin guidance. 

The company鈥檚 updated sales growth forecast for financial year 2026 is 9-11 per cent, up from 6-10 per cent previously. Sales for the 13 weeks to 25 January were boosted by a strong Christmas trading period, as 鈥渂road-based鈥� growth in the US and a 鈥渃onsistent鈥� UK performance supported the upgrade. 

The retailer said demand for its 鈥渒ey luxury brands remains strong and continues to outstrip supply in both the UK and US markets鈥�. For Watches of Switzerland, that largely means Rolex. Its shares have reflected the worry about US tariffs on Swiss imports in the past year, declining sharply in the first months of 2025 before climbing 48 per cent since August. 

Watches of Switzerland also cut its operating margin growth guidance from flat-to-100 basis points to 70-to-90 basis points. The expectation change reflects factors including brand margin adjustments and product mix. CA

GSK (GSK) results were the first for new chief executive and company veteran Luke Miels, who outlined a strategy to move the company鈥檚 sales towards higher-margin specialist medicines, based on a more productive product pipeline. The market seemed pleased enough with the progress made so far to bid the shares up to a 12-month high. 

Operationally, it certainly has made a decent start. The year looked steady with the doubling of reported profits, down to easier comparatives. The combination of the 拢1.8bn Zantac provision in 2024, plus the 拢365mn settlement it received from its dispute with CureVac, and various fair value increases in investments, all combined to flatter the results.

However, drilling down into core numbers showed some promising signs that focusing on higher-margin specialist medicines was delivering improvements. For instance, underlying profit before tax increased by 11 per cent to 拢9.8bn, helped by a 1.1 per cent uptick in operating margin, which was well ahead of the 7 per cent increase in turnover to 拢32.6bn.   

As for the outlook, GSK is forecasting that specialist medicines will grow by low double-digits in 2026, with a forecast for core operating profit growth of 7-9 per cent.

Miels said: 鈥淲e expect positive momentum to continue in 2026, which will be a key year of execution and operational delivery with a strong focus on commercial launches and accelerating R&D.鈥�

FTSE 100 cyber insurance specialist Beazley (BEZ) has agreed in principle to the 鈥渒ey financial terms鈥� of a fresh takeover approach from Zurich Insurance (CH:ZURN) after the Swiss insurer鈥檚 string of failed buyout proposals.

The 1,335p per share approach values Beazley at 拢8bn, an improved offer from the 1,280p per share bid that was rejected by the board last month.

The offer is for 1,310p per share in cash, on top of which Beazley would pay shareholders a 25p per share dividend before the completion of the deal.

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Shares in YouGov (YOU) fell more than 7 per cent this morning after the pollster said organic growth for the first half of the year would be in the low-single digits, with mixed performance across divisions.

Data products, by far its most profitable business, is expected to come in flat. The group said renewal rates have been stable, but that budget constraints across its media agency clients have weighed on growth. 

The research arm is anticipated to grow by mid-single digits on an organic basis, driven by strategic project work and large-scale brand trackers. The shopper division, previously CPS, is set to fall slightly due to timing issues.

In the meantime, YouGov said it continues to invest in its quest to transition into an 鈥淎I-driven data company鈥�, with management reporting 鈥渆arly commercial interest鈥� in its AI initiatives, including a new qualitative data product set to launch this week.

Management said it remains mindful of the tough macroeconomic backdrop and ongoing renewal season, when the company plans to push through price increases in line with inflation after an 18-month pause. 

Revenues are forecast to grow modestly for the full year, but operating profit growth will be dependent on cost management initiatives and the return on investments in product development, technology and operations, YouGov said. Half-year results to 31 January are due on 24 March.

Grainger鈥檚 (GRI) trading update this morning reflected a softening in the UK rental market.

The build-to-rent landlord reported a 3.1 per cent increase in like-for-like rental growth for the four months to the end of January, at the lower end of its 3.0-3.5 per cent target, and down from 4.7 per cent in the same period last year. 

Within this, growth in its regulated tenancies, which the company is slowly selling down, was stronger at 6.2 per cent, while that in its main private rental sector portfolio was weaker at 2.8 per cent.

Occupancy fell 2 percentage points from September levels to 96 per cent. The company has previously suggested that 95 per cent is its baseline target.

鈥淥ur outlook is strong and positive, with market-leading earnings growth to come and a proven ability to deliver sustainable rental growth and high occupancy, driven by our leading operational platform.鈥� Shares rose 1 per cent in early trading.

Atalaya Mining (ATYM), fresh off a fund raise last week, has an as-yet-unnamed new major shareholder after Trafigura sold off 8 per cent of its stake. The 拢132mn transfer was done at 945p, compared to Tuesday鈥檚 closing price of 1,007p.

The shares dropped 8 per cent in response, to 943p.

The deal is not an exit as Trafigura still holds 11 per cent of the Spanish copper miner. The trading house did not participate in the fund raise last week, meaning its holding has halved.

鈥淭he optics of selling down shortly after the raise and with the Touro permit yet to be received still raises eyebrows in our view,鈥� said RBC Capital Markets analyst Laura Chan. She added that Trafigura鈥檚 move could be 鈥減urely liquidity-driven鈥� or just a response to the capital raise being oversubscribed, indicating strong investor demand.

Last week, Atalaya raised 拢127mn at 1,000p per share, which it will put towards a new copper mine and the expansion of its existing Riotinto operation.

Glencore (GLEN) has agreed to sell around half of its stakes in two Democratic Republic of Congo copper and cobalt mines to a consortium backed by the US government. The deal, for 40 per cent of the Mutanda and Kamoto assets, would bring in $2.7bn (拢2bn) for Glencore, estimates Jefferies, given the $9bn combined enterprise value of the operations outlined in the memorandum of understanding.

The buyers are private equity house Orion Resource Partners, the US International Development Finance Corporation and Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ, operating as Orion Critical Mineral Consortium.

Glencore currently owns 95 per cent of Mutanda and 75 per cent of Kamoto. These operations produced 224,500 tonnes of copper in 2024, around a quarter of total output.

鈥淭his proposed transaction between Glencore and the US-backed Orion Critical Minerals Consortium reflects the core objectives of the US-DRC Strategic Partnership Agreement by encouraging greater US investment in the DRC鈥檚 mining sector and promoting secure, reliable, and mutually beneficial flows of critical minerals between our two countries,鈥� said US deputy secretary of state Christopher Landau.

The valuation of the deal is around 5 times forecast Ebitda from the assets for 2026, according to Jefferies analyst Christopher LaFemina. This is well below the 10 times other copper miners trade at, but 鈥渃ould make Glencore a more attractive acquisition target for Rio鈥�, he added, citing a reduction in 鈥済eopolitical risks鈥�.

The deadline for a firm agreement between Rio Tinto (RIO) and Glencore is Thursday at 5pm, although the miners will reportedly extend this to allow talks to continue.