Smiths Group lifts revenue guidance, Vanquis chair to step down

London open

The FTSE 100 is expected to open 25 points higher on Friday, having closed up 0.25% on Thursday at 7,742.30.

Stocks to watch

Smiths Group lifted revenue guidance after a strong third quarter, driven by volume and price growth. Organic revenue was up 13.4% for the nine months to April 30, leading Smiths to increase 2023 guidance to around 10% organic revenue growth with “moderate” margin improvement.

Vanquis Banking Group said on Friday that chairman Patrick Snowball plans to step down from the board this year. Snowball, who has been chairman since 2018, will stay on until a successor has been appointed and to support the transition to the group's new chief executive officer, Ian McLaughlin, who starts in July.

Newspaper round-up

The organic vegetable box company Riverford is to become 100% owned by its staff after its founder, Guy Singh-Watson, agreed to sell his remaining 23% stake for almost £10m. Singh-Watson, who sold nearly three-quarters of the company to employees in 2018, will take a £9.8m payment over five years and immediately hand full control to a trust on behalf of its 900 staff who each receive an annual profit share and participate in the running of the business. – Guardian

Asda is planning to cut pay for about 7,000 workers in stores close to London by about 5% despite the surge in the cost of living in Britain. The UK’s third biggest supermarket, which was bought by the billionaire Issa brothers and private equity firm TDR Capital in 2020, said it was in consultation about removing a 60p an hour supplement from workers at 39 stores sited outside the M25 but near to the capital. – Guardian

The Bank of England has told the Treasury that it is planning to reject Revolut's application for a banking licence, after a two-year campaign by Britain's most valuable fintech company. The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), the arm of the Bank responsible for licensing, informed the Government in March that it planned to issue a statutory warning notice to Revolut within a few weeks. – Telegraph

Up to £1 billion will be invested in the microchip industry over the next decade as part of the government’s long-delayed semiconductor strategy — a fraction of the tens of billions being invested by the US and the EU. Publishing its plans for boosting production of the crucial electronic components, the Department for Science, Industry & Technology acknowledged that the UK would never be a superpower in the sector because of the expense of building semiconductor factories, known as fabs. – The Times

The investor revolt at The Restaurant Group intensified yesterday when the hedge fund leading the rebellion accused the Wagamama operator of excluding “certain” shareholders from key information ahead of next week’s annual meeting. Oasis Management Company, which has used its 12.3 per cent to take issue with TRG’s remuneration, financial performance and other concerns, has written to Ken Hanna, the quoted company’s chairman, expressing its “deep concern regarding the equal treatment of shareholders”. – The Times

US close

Wall Street's major indices all closed in positive territory on Thursday, buoyed by a strong round of corporate earnings and an influx of economic data.

Ongoing negotiations on the federal debt ceiling also remained in focus, with congressional Republicans and the White House reportedly inching closer to an agreement.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.34% to close at 33,535.91, and the S&P 500 gained 0.94% to close at 4,198.05.

Leading the day’s growth was the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, which jumped 1.51% to finish at 12,688.84.

In currency markets, the dollar was broadly in the green, last rising 0.65% on sterling to trade at 80.6p, while it gained 0.63% on the common currency to stand at 92.83 euro cents.