¹û¶³´«Ã½

Shares in YouGov (YOU) fell nearly 12 per cent after the group said it was considering selling its Shopper division, which it bought from GfK for €315mn (£272mn) just over two years ago.

The news followed a 19 per cent drop in overall adjusted operating profit, as revenue grew just 1 per cent on an underlying basis to £195mn in the six months to 31 January, driven by the research division. This all pushed the margin 340 basis points lower to 12.3 per cent.

Management said the decline reflected the “required� investment to drive growth in the Shopper arm, previously known as CPS, where underlying sales fell 2 per cent, and adjusted operating profit halved to nearly £7mn. Those investments are expected to have a £6mn impact in the 2026 financial year and break even by 2028.

Taking that into account, the company has guided for adjusted operating profit of between £52mn-56mn this year.

The board said it was considering a share buyback, contingent on an upcoming refinancing of its bank facilities.

S4 Capital (SFOR) shares jumped 18 per cent in early trading after Martin Sorrell’s digital marketing agency significantly cleaned up its balance sheet and protected its margins despite a drop in revenues.

Net revenue fell 8.4 per cent on a like-for-like basis to £673mn last year as tech clients diverted cash from advertising into AI, but operational Ebitda margins grew 70 basis points to 12.1 per cent. Adjusted operating profit fell 5.5 per cent to £74mn, but the pre-tax loss narrowed sharply to £25mn.

Net debt ended the year at £87mn, below the targeted range of £100mn to £140mn, helped by doubling free cash flow to £87mn. Leverage improved to 1.1 times operational Ebitda. As a result, the board hiked the dividend by 10 per cent to 1.1p.

Management said clients remained cautious due to the conflict in the Middle East. The company has guided for “slightly lower� revenues in 2026, in line with analyst consensus, but expected operational Ebitda to increase by at least 100 basis points due to cost cuts.

Michelmersh (MBH) has announced that chief financial officer Rachel Warren, whose appointment was only announced at the half-year stage in September, is leaving the business next month for personal reasons. Warren joined the brickmaker from distributor Wincanton last year.

Michelmersh said chief executive Ryan Mahoney will fill both roles on an interim basis. Shares in the brickmaker, which announced a 2 per cent fall in revenue and a 46 per cent slide in pre-tax profit for 2025, fell 2 per cent.

Despite a strong UK showing, Kingfisher’s (KGF) 2025 sales were weighed down by sluggish growth in France and Poland.

While UK total sales rose by 4.2 per cent on higher volumes, higher consumer savings rates in France and a “challenging macro backdrop� in Poland meant that total sales rose by just 1.3 per cent overall.

Nonetheless, adjusted pre-tax profit grew by 6 per cent to £560mn, due to careful cost management, which helped gross margins grow by 80 basis points.

“Our UK banners led the way,� said chief executive Theirry Garnier. “This reflects the growth of our digital ecosystem, increased share of wallet from trade customers and the opening of 34 new stores,� he added.

Sales at the DIY group’s B&Q and Screwfix stores were up by 4 and 4.5 per cent respectively, with trade now making up 30 per cent of group sales.

The company said it expects to deliver adjusted pre-tax profit of £565mn-£625mn and free cash flow of £450mn-£510mn for FY26, and announced the launch of a new £300mn share buyback.

Shares in Bellway (BWY) fell 9 per cent in early trading after the housebuilder lowered its operating margin guidance for FY2026 at interim results.

The company now expects an operating margin of 10.5 per cent, in line with the first six months of the year, but below previous guidance of 11 per cent. The decrease is due to higher cost inflation and weak house price inflation.

The company continues to guide for a full-year underlying operating profit of £320mn-£330mn, the midpoint of which is 3 per cent below analysts’ expectations.

Bellway reported underlying profit before tax of £151mn on revenues of £1.5bn for the six months ended January, up 1 per cent and 6 per cent respectively versus the prior year.

In the six weeks to 16 March, the company experienced a decline in net private reservations per outlet per week, a key measure of activity, to 0.76, down from 0.70 a year ago.

Chesnara (CSN), a FTSE 250 entrant last year, pointed to a “very healthy� acquisition pipeline in its annual results, as the life insurance and pensions specialist bumped up its dividend by 6 per cent.

For the year to 31 December 2025, operating capital generation was up 19 per cent to £94mn and adjusted operating profit climbed 42 per cent to £56mn. Assets under administration rose 10 per cent to £15bn.

Chesnara – which bought HSBC Life’s UK arm for £260mn last year and expects to complete the €110mn (£95mn) purchase of Scottish Widows Europe by the end of 2026 – has around £100mn of firepower for further M&A activity.

Despite the positive numbers, the shares slipped 2 per cent in early trading.

Recent changes to packaging tax in the UK have meant Fevertree’s (FEVR) final results missed analysts’ expectations, knocking 4 per cent off the share price in early trading.

The soft drinks and mixer maker reported FY25 sales of £325mn, down from £369mn the year before, and adjusted Ebitda of £42.4mn, which Citibank analyst Simon Hales said missed expectations of £44.4mn.

The Ebitda miss was due to the UK’s ‘Extended Producer Responsibility’ levy, in force since October and designed to shift the cost of household packaging waste management to producers. The new duty cost Fevertree £2.8mn, although its scope remains under debate.

While the company said it “remains confident� its on-trade glass products should be exempt, the Environment Agency challenged this, and Fevertree has launched a legal challenge in response.

Nonetheless, management kept its guidance unchanged and reiterated its plans to complete a £30mn share buyback in FY26, despite the potential for further packaging charges.

The group said it was fully hedged on energy costs for glass production in FY26, which should partially insulate it from conflict in the Middle East.