果冻传媒

Shares in SSP Group (SSPG) leapt 15 per cent this morning, after the Upper Crust owner delivered better than expected results.

The group, which sells food and drinks to travellers in airports and railway stations, increased revenue by almost 8 per cent on a constant currency basis, thanks to resilient travel demand despite a tricky macro backdrop. This helped boost earnings per share (EPS) by a quarter to 11.9p, ahead of its 11.5p guidance set in October.

But while its North America, UK, and Asia Pacific regions remained profitable, the company鈥檚 continental Europe division proved a drag, reporting an operating loss of 拢48mn.

鈥淲e acknowledge there is more to do to strengthen our operational performance, most notably in continental Europe, where we have now reset our team, model and balance sheet,鈥� said boss Patrick Coveney.

SSP is in the process of completing an overhead restructuring plan, which should create 拢30mn in annualised savings, of which 拢5mn was delivered this year.

Investors were also cheered by the news that trading in the first 8 weeks of the new financial year is off to a solid start, with total sales up 6 per cent, and guidance reaffirmed. In addition, the company has launched its 拢100mn share buyback programme, which should further support EPS growth.

Shares in Future (FUTR) jumped 11 per cent this morning after the publisher and price comparison group launched a fresh 拢30mn buyback and unveiled a fivefold increase in its dividend to 17p per share. 

Full-year results came in as expected, with organic revenue down 3 per cent to 拢739mn and adjusted operating profits falling 6 per cent at constant currency to 拢223mn. Even so, the corresponding margin was kept unchanged at 28 per cent thanks to cost cuts. 

The boost to shareholder returns came despite a 20 per cent drop in adjusted free cash flow to 拢177mn, driven by one-off tax payments, with a cash conversion rate of 86 per cent. Net debt rose from 拢257mn a year earlier to 拢276mn, with the leverage ratio rising to 1.3 times Ebitda from 1.1 times.

Future still expects modest organic revenue growth in the 2026 financial year, and forecasts stable adjusted Ebitda margins of 30 per cent. In the medium term, the goal is to achieve sustainable revenue growth of between 2 and 4 per cent.

Miner Rio Tinto (RIO) plans to deliver 鈥渁 step change in performance and returns鈥�.

The miner said it would streamline around three business lines: copper, iron ore and lithium and aluminium, as it implements a 鈥渟harper focus on the portfolio鈥� 鈥� potentially halting non-core projects and testing the market鈥檚 appetite for other assets.

Upgrades to several key production targets and an expected easing of capex requirements are set to deliver a 40-50 per cent improvement in Ebitda by 2030, based on consensus commodity prices.

The company plans to increase copper equivalent production by 20 per cent also by 2030.

Capex, which has risen from $9.5bn in 2024 to $11bn this year, should remain elevated for the next two years as work on the underground copper mine at Oyu Tolgoi, the Simandou iron ore mine in Guinea and the Rincon lithium project in Argentina completes, but is expected to fall back below $10bn from 2028 onwards.

Rio Tinto鈥檚 shares were flat in early trading.

Earlier this week, Capital Economics鈥� commodities economist Hamad Hussain warned that the ramp-up of production at Simandou, which is expected to provide 7 per cent of the world鈥檚 iron ore once it hits capacity, is taking place at a time when global demand is weak. It is forecasting prices could fall to $85 per tonne, from just below $105 currently.

Baltic Classifieds (BCG) shares fell 18 per cent after half-year results revealed a much sharper slowdown in its core auto business than the market had bargained for. The company had already issued a profit warning in September based on problems in Estonia, but investors were still caught off guard.

While the reported figures showed profits up 22 per cent to 鈧�26.4mn (拢22mn) and revenues up 7 per cent to 鈧�44.8mn, this growth was driven largely by price increases rather than underlying activity.

Indeed, operational trends were markedly weaker. Auto revenues were flat year-on-year, with C2C listings down 29 per cent and Estonian car transactions halving following tax changes. Real estate and generalist platforms also reported double-digit declines in paid inventory, signalling a thinner pipeline for future revenue.

In its outlook, management warned of Ebitda margin pressure as revenue growth slows and investment in AI rises. It also struck a cautious tone on inventory trends across its portfolio.

Trustpilot (TRST) shares sank almost 20 per cent this morning after activist short seller Grizzly Research published a scathing report accusing the online reviews platform of using 鈥渕afia-style鈥� extortion tactics against businesses that don鈥檛 pay premium subscriptions.

The New York-based firm claimed the FTSE 250 group creates unsolicited review profiles for all sorts of businesses, attracting waves of negative feedback that then push companies to pay subscription deals to 鈥渕ore actively鈥� manage the reviews that appear on their page.

According to the report, companies that sign up suddenly see their scores 鈥渕agically鈥� jump from below to stars to more than four, while negative posts are 鈥渟puriously鈥� challenged or removed for companies that pay Trustpilot. It also said there was a 鈥渃oncerning pattern鈥� of apparently falsified reviews on the platform.

The short seller argued the company has 鈥渢raded the integrity of reviews for revenues鈥�, which it believes will erode Trustpilot鈥檚 brand and value proposition. It also suggested that if Google (US:GOOG) decides the platform鈥檚 content reflects badly on its own search results, the tech giant could penalise it and 鈥渆ffectively destroy [its] entire business model鈥�.

Trustpilot said the report presents 鈥渁 series of claims that are selective, misleading and framed to support a pre-determined narrative鈥�.

鈥淚t omits key context and publicly available facts, creating a false impression and exhibits a lack of understanding of how Trustpilot works. Trust is our guiding principle and is central to everything we do,鈥� the company added.

Shares in investment platform AJ Bell (AJB) fell 6 per cent on results day after it delivered full-year figures that, while slightly ahead of expectations, pointed to lower profitability next year because of higher levels of investment. Not even a newly announced share buyback of 拢50mn was enough to lift the mood.

Management plans to increase investment across the board in 2026, which implies around 拢15mn of additional expenditure. The company stressed that heavier investment is intended to accelerate long-term organic growth in both its advised and direct-to-consumer channels. As a result, the group guided to a pre-tax profit margin of 39 to 40 per cent for the coming year.

DiscoverIE (DSCV) has agreed to buy Trival Antene, a Slovenian manufacturer of antennae and masts, for an initial 鈧�45.5mn (拢39.9mn).

The company will also pay a deferred sum of 鈧�1.65mn after 12 months, and a potential earnout of up to 鈧�5.5mn dependent on the business hitting future performance targets.

Trival makes antennae and masts used by the defence industry for handheld, mobile and fixed radio devices. Last year, it generated revenue of 鈧�12.7mn and earned an adjusted operating margin 鈥渨ell above鈥� DiscoverIE鈥檚 medium-term target rate of 17 per cent.

Management said the deal would be 鈥渋mmediately鈥� earnings accretive on completion, but it will push leverage slightly higher 鈥� from the 1.3 times reported earlier this week, to 1.7 times.