Dunelm Q1 sales fall, Bunzl delivers 'strong growth in Q3

London pre-open

The FTSE 100 was being called to open 12.7 points lower ahead of the bell on Thursday after closing out the previous session 0.17% weaker at 6,924.99.

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UK homewares retailer Dunelm reported a fall in first-quarter sales on Thursday but maintained annual guidance despite a challenging macroeconomic environment.

Dunelm said on Thursday that sales for the 13 weeks to 1 October fell 8% to £357.0m against a tough comparator last year when people spent more on home improvements during Covid-19 lockdowns. Revenues rose 36% against pre-pandemic levels.

Distribution and services group Bunzl said on Thursday that its "diversified and resilient business model" had delivered "strong growth", with Q3 group revenues up 18.8% at actual exchange rates and 8.7% at constant exchange rates.

Bunzl also stated that despite "a slowing macroeconomic environment", full-year guidance remained unchanged at constant exchange rates, with the firm expecting to deliver "very good revenue growth in 2022.

Newspaper round-up

Trade from the UK to the EU is down 16% on the levels anticipated had Brexit not happened, a new report has found. Meanwhile, trade from the EU to the UK has dropped even further, by 20%, relative to a scenario in which Brexit had not occurred, according to research published on Wednesday by the Economic and Social Research Institute. – Guardian

Tourism and recreation experienced the fastest fall in output of any UK business sector last month, the latest data shows. Output in the sector, which includes pubs, hotels and restaurants, declined at the fastest pace since February 2021, when the UK was last in lockdown, with a tracker score of 36.3 in September, according to the Lloyds Bank UK Recovery Tracker. Any reading below 50 indicates contraction. – Guardian

Train travellers are to escape a double-digit rise in ticket prices linked to soaring inflation, amid fears it would prompt more to abandon the railways. Industry leaders have been told by ministers that a scheduled increase in fares of 12.3% will not go ahead. The annual increase would have been based on July's retail prices index. – Telegraph

A row has broken out between the billionaire co-founder of Hargreaves Lansdown and the FTSE 100 company after he accused the group's chairwoman of overseeing a "diabolical" performance by the business. Peter Hargreaves, 76, who is the biggest shareholder in the DIY investment platform with a stake of almost 20%, told The Times this evening that he believed Deanna Oppenheimer, 64, should step down from the board of the Bristol-based company. – The Times

Business groups have implored Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union to negotiate to avert further strike action, which they warned would be a "body blow" to small companies. Royal Mail workers are due to walk out today amid a long-running dispute over pay and working conditions, part of plans for 19 days of strikes this month and next. – The Times

US close

Wall Street stocks snapped a two-day winning streak by the close on Wednesday, even after Netflix posted solid earnings and subscriber growth overnight.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.33% at 30,423.81, while the S&P 500 lost 0.67% to 3,695.16 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.85% weaker at 10,680.51.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com