¹û¶³´«Ã½

ITV (ITV) shares received a modest boost this morning after the broadcaster kept group revenue flat, in a better-than-expected set of results for the 12 months to 31 December.

Statutory profit before tax fell by more than a third, however, this was largely due to a tough comparator in 2024, which included a one-off profit from the sale of BritBox International.

ITV confirmed in November that it is in talks with Sky to sell its media and entertainment (M&E) business, in a deal that could be worth up to £1.6bn, though the board provided no further update while talks remain ongoing. The unit, which consists of ITV’s free-to-air TV channels and its streaming service, reported revenue declined 5 per cent for the period.

And while revenue at ITV Studios, which makes and markets shows such as Love Island, increased 5 per cent, total advertising revenue fell by £97mn. Management expects total advertising revenue in the first quarter of FY26 to fall by 2 per cent, though they attributed this to advertisers holding back to spend later in the year around the men’s football World Cup.

The board said it expected earnings before interest and tax margins at the lower end of the 13 to 15 per cent range from ITV Studios in FY26, while flagging that revenue, margin and profit will be skewed towards the second half of the year.

Serco Group (SRP) has set out plans for a £75mn share buyback after full-year results showed the FTSE 250 outsourcer managed to cushion an expected drop in immigration revenues with double-digit defence growth.

Revenue rose 3 per cent to £4.9bn, with 1 per cent organic growth. Income from immigration and asylum seeker housing fell by £100mn to under £1.6bn due to lower use of migrant hotels. But defence revenue grew 15 per cent to £1.7bn, making it the group’s largest sector. 

The order intake stood at £5.5bn, equivalent to a book-to-bill ratio of 114 per cent, with around two thirds of awards in defence. The order book rose 9 per cent to £14.5bn, while the pipeline of potential contracts rose 8 per cent to £12.1bn, the highest level in over a decade.

Underlying operating profit rose 1 per cent at constant currency to £272mn, with the margin slipping to 5.6 per cent. Free cash flow came in at £219mn, ahead of previous guidance of £170mn. Adjusted net debt doubled to £206mn, though leverage is still below the company’s target range of 1 to 2 times Ebitda. 

Management reiterated its 2026 guidance for revenue of around £5bn, 3 per cent organic growth and a 10 per cent jump in underlying operating profit to £300mn. The margin is expected to reach 6 per cent.

Long-term oil and gas services investors have looked a smart bunch so far this year, buying up US and European names before the White House’s wild foreign policy forays boosted share prices. 

Including this week’s rush, the sector was up 35 per cent year-to-date. Hunting (HTG) is slightly ahead of the crowd, with a 38 per cent rise. 

Its 2025 results hit analyst forecasts for sales of $1bn (£750mn) and Ebitda of $135mn, the former flat with 2024 and the latter 7 per cent ahead. Hunting makes parts used across the sector, ranging from perforation guns for shale assets to subsea piping and specialist parts. 

Based on the renewed interest in the sector, RBC Capital Markets has just raised Hunting’s target price by 10 per cent, shifting the FY2027 EV/Ebitda ratio to 7 times from 6 times. This is despite the order book falling from $509mn at the end of 2024 to $358mn, because of the completion of a major Kuwait Oil Company sale. 

The company said the conflict in the Gulf could lead to “some tender and order slippageâ€� if it drags on, “given our strategic concentration on offshore and subsea markets, alongside our growing international diversification, our 2026 projections carry minimal exposure to the Middle Eastâ€�. 

Hunting was confident enough in new orders coming in to announce a $40mn share buyback plan for the next two years.

Elementis (ELM) has spent most of the past couple of years working out its best corporate structure against a troubled economic backdrop, as the group refocuses on coatings and personal care and becomes a pure-play specialty chemicals company. The full year results showed a work in progress.

The sale of the talc business to IMI removed a longstanding headache for Elementis and while there were net cash proceeds of $55mn (£41mn), the sale registered as a statutory loss of $110mn because the eventual sale price was below the carrying value.

Indeed, the reshaping of the business isn’t quite finished, and the company has decided to specialise even more with the post-period sale of its pharmaceutical contract manufacturing arm to Associated British Foods (ABF) for a total consideration of €34mn (£30mn). The company expects that the net proceeds will be distributed back to shareholders.

A strong performance from a recently acquired business in Spain helped Grafton (GFTU) beat full-year profit expectations.

Adjusted operating profit rose by 7 per cent to £190.2mn on the back of a 10 per cent uplift in revenue to £2.5bn, the owner of the Woodie’s DIY and Selco builders’ merchant companies said.

Trading was strong across Spain and the Republic of Ireland, and although revenue across its Great Britain arm was flat, margin improvement helped profit to tick higher.

Although trading in the first two months of this year has been largely flat, it was affected by bad weather across Great Britain and Ireland, and the company expects business to pick up as the year progresses. Grafton’s shares rose by 6 per cent.

CAB Payments (CABP) strengthened its defence against what its board deems a “highly opportunistic� bid from its major shareholder with a set of results that chief executive Neeraj Kapur said marked “a turning point� in its fortunes.

For 2025, the company reported total income growth of 12 per cent to £119mn and a 9 per cent increase in adjusted pre-tax profit to £23.2mn.

CAB’s major shareholder, Helios Investments (which has the backing of just over half of the company’s shares), announced a possible offer of $1.15 (84p) per share on 2 February, valuing the company at $292mn, which was a premium of about 18 per cent to the previous day’s closing price.

It firmed up the offer on Monday, but CAB’s board has restated its opposition on the grounds that it undervalued the business, and that it involves both currency risk as it priced in US dollars and offers an illiquid unlisted share alternative. 

CAB’s shares currently trade at a slight premium to Helios’s offer, at just shy of 88p a share.

While Entain’s (ENT) UK business continues to count the cost of the November Budget, there was better news for investors from across the pond, after the gambling operator’s US joint venture broke even for the first time.

The shares rose 5 per cent in early trading, on account of improved profitability from the group’s BetMGM joint venture, where revenues grew 33 per cent and Ebitda hit $220mn, versus a loss last year. Entain’s 50 per cent stake in the business helped lift overall group net gaming revenue by 7 per cent.

However, Entain reported a statutory loss after tax of £681mn, which included a UK impairment charge of £487.7mn against the group’s goodwill, in recognition of the “material impact� of higher gambling taxes.

The government is almost doubling remote gaming duty, which applies to online casino games, from 21 per cent to 40 per cent as of April. Entain had previously said it expected to be hit with an additional £200mn in annual costs for its UK and Ireland online business, though management now anticipates being able to offset 50 per cent of this increase from 2027.

The board said it expects net gaming revenue growth of 5 to 7 per cent for FY26, excluding BetMGM, and remains comfortable with market expectations of £1.13bn FY26 Ebitda.

Endeavour Mining (EDV) has reported an adjusted profit of $2.3bn (£1.7bn) for 2025, up 75 per cent on the year before, thanks to the record gold prices and higher production.

The West Africa-focused miner has sold off in recent days as investors reacted to the Iran war, but remains up more than 30 per cent year-to-date. Analysts have pointed to the conflict as keeping gold above $5,000 an ounce (oz) as investors look for safe assets.

Endeavour’s reported profits missed analyst forecasts because of a $193mn impairment on exploration assets, the majority being the Bantou project which has proved too small for the miner. Despite this, there was still a $1.2bn rise in pretax profit, to $1.3bn. Free cash flow was also $1.2bn, almost four times the 2024 figure.

Chief executive Ian Cockerill said a $1bn dividend plan for the three years to 2028 would “more than double� at the current spot gold price. The 2026 payout will be at least $300mn, or 124¢ per share.

Production guidance for 2026 is 1.1mn-1.27mn oz, compared with 1.2mn oz in 2025, at an all-in sustaining cost of $1,600-$1,800 per oz. The cost is at least $200 per oz higher than last year, because of an increase in royalty rates. The cost of production often rises alongside the price as miners go after gold that would not have been profitable in a weaker market.

Shares in Bloomsbury (BMY) jumped more than 15 per cent this morning after bestselling author Sarah J. Maas confirmed publication dates for two new novels in her A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) series within a single year.

The novels are scheduled for release on 27 October this year and 12 January 2027, a timetable chief executive Nigel Newton described as “almost unprecedented in publishing history�. Maas set out the dates during an appearance on the Call Her Daddy podcast on Wednesday.

Bloomsbury said results for the year ending February 2026 are expected to be in line with market expectations. However, it added that profit for the 2026/27 financial year will be “materially ahead� of consensus forecasts, reflecting the impact of the two releases.

Sarah J Maas was the highest-selling author in the US in 2024, according to data from Circana, and the number one best-selling author in the UK in 2025. Bloomsbury has published all of Sarah J Maas’s previous 16 novels and owns the publishing rights for her next six releases.

“We do not expect the same level of backlist sales this time round but the release of two books in quick succession is likely to generate a degree of sales momentum,� said Peel Hunt analysts Jessica Pok and Melanie Yang.

Company-compiled consensus currently points to profit before tax and highlighted items of £44.3mn for 2025/26 and £44.5mn for the year ending February 2027. The group is due to report full-year results on 20 May.

Brickmaker Ibstock (IBST) expects demand to remain subdued this year, and will actively manage production and volume in response, prioritising cash generation over margins. As a result, its adjusted Ebitda margin will be lower than 2025’s 19 per cent.

The company reported 2025 adjusted Ebitda of £71mn, down 10 per cent versus the prior year despite revenues growing 2 per cent to £372mn.

The company cut its total dividend by 25 per cent to 3p. Shares fell 5 per cent in early trading, with fellow brickmaker Forterra (FORT) also down 2 per cent.

“Ibstock is well-positioned to capitalise on the recovery, currently anticipated to begin in H2 2026, with its market leadership position and its diversified and efficient capacity,� according to chief executive Joe Hudson.

Shares in Reckitt (RKT) wobbled in early trading after the consumer goods giant revealed sales growth was driven by pricing rather than volumes, which failed to impress investors.

The maker of Dettol reported like-for-like net sales growth of 5 per cent for FY25 across its 11 core ‘power brands’, which include Vanish stain remover and Finish dishwasher tablets, and reiterated its medium-term target for growth across its core products of between 4 and 5 per cent.

A slow start to the cold and flu season slowed net revenue growth in Europe and North America. However, this was more than offset by the FTSE 100 group’s strength in emerging markets such as China and India, where sales grew 15 per cent.

While pre-tax profit proved a bright spot on paper, the 83 per cent increase came largely on account of proceeds from disposals, though this was helped by lower finance expenses and a reduction in Reckitt’s fixed cost base.

The group’s net debt position improved, although this was due to the temporary cash benefit from the sale of its ‘essential home’ business. Reckitt divested the unit for $4.8bn (£3.6bn) in December, with the proceeds set to be returned to investors via a special dividend on 20 February. This is separate from the standard full-year dividend, which the board increased by 5 per cent.

Aviva (AV.) announced a £350mn share buyback, its first since 2024, and raised its dividend by 10 per cent after the FTSE 100 insurer hit targets a year earlier than expected.

For the year to 31 December, operating profit was up 25 per cent to £2.2bn (ahead of an original £2bn target for 2026) which included a £174mn contribution from Direct Line. General insurance profit rose almost 50 per cent to £1.49bn, while insurance, wealth and retirement (IWR) profit was flat at £1.1bn.

The group’s Solvency II operating own funds generation of £2.3bn, up 40 per cent, outstripped its original £1.8bn target for this year.

Management stuck with the medium-term growth targets it set out in November. The group expects to deliver operating earnings per share (EPS) growth of 11 per cent on a compound annual basis between 2026 and 2028 and a return on equity (ROE) of more than 20 per cent by 2028.

Read more: This transformed FTSE 100 insurer still offers a high yield

Wizz Air (WIZZ) shares fell by 6 per cent after it published a profit warning after markets closed on Wednesday.

The budget airline said it expected a €50mn (£43.5mn) hit to its bottom line for the current financial year because of the current conflict in Iran. It has had to cancel certain scheduled services and is facing higher jet fuel costs. As a result, Wizz said its result will be worse than the guided range of a €25mn profit to a €25mn loss issued in January.

RBC Capital Markets said there is likely to be a read-across from its announcement to other European airlines, though “not to the same degree�, as Wizz’s route network is further to the east than many peers.

Senior (SNR) has confirmed a third private equity bidder is still in the running to buy the business. Arcline Investment Management first submitted a bid for the company two weeks ago and discussions remain “ongoing�, the company said.

Advent International and an entity controlled by Blackstone (US:BX) have also both confirmed that they are in talks for potential all-cash offers for Senior’s shares in recent days.

Senior offloaded its Aerostructures arm to Sullivan Street Partners at the end of December for £114mn and was planning to return £40mn of the proceeds to shareholders, but has postponed this until bid talks conclude.

On Monday, Senior reported a 6 per cent increase in revenue for 2025 of £738mn and a 22 per cent increase in adjusted operating profit to £63.6mn.

Senior’s shares rose by 5 per cent.

Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey (TW) has changed its shareholder distribution policy and announced a £53mn share buyback this morning.

The company previously only paid dividends, but has now said its annual distribution policy will be two-thirds dividend and one-third either dividend or buyback, opting for the latter in the first instance. The overall level of payouts will remain the same.

The results otherwise offered little surprise. The housebuilder reported adjusted operating profit of £421mn on revenue of £3.8bn, up 1 per cent and 13 per cent respectively versus the prior year, and both in line with guidance announced in January.

The company has guided for 10,600 to 11,000 completions in 2026 (excluding joint ventures), a slight increase from 2025 (10,614).

More positively, chief executive Jennie Daly noted the spring selling season was progressing well. “[There is] encouraging customer interest reflecting the quality of our sites and locations,� she added.

Shares rose 3 per cent in early trading.