Redde Northgate posts rise in profits, AO World earrings jump

London open

The FTSE 100 is expected to open 13 points lower on Wednesday, having closed down 0.1% at 7,519.72 on Tuesday

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Stocks to watch

Vehicle hire company Redde Northgate posted a strong rise in annual profit, driven by higher demand. The company on Wednesday posted a 34.7% rise in pre-tax profit to £178.7m. Revenue grew by a fifth to £1.49bn and the full-year dividend was lifted by 3p a share to 24p.

AO World reported strong progress in its plan to shift its focus towards profit and cash generation in its results on Wednesday, achieving a significant increase in adjusted EBITDA to £45m, compared to £23m in the prior year. The company's revenue declined by 17%, however, largely due to the removal of non-core channels and unprofitable sales, as well as weak consumer sentiment influenced by the cost of living pressures.

Newspaper round-up

Morrisons is closing a fruit-packing plant in Bradford, putting 450 jobs at risk in the supermarket’s home city where it traces its roots back to 1899. The debt-laden supermarket chain, which is battling to save costs after a takeover in October 2021 by the American private equity group Clayton Dubilier & Rice, said it was moving operations from the Cutler Heights area of the West Yorkshire city – its first ever fruit-packing plant – to another plant in Thrapston, Northamptonshire, and a distribution centre in Wakefield in the second part of this year. – Guardian

London’s mayor Sadiq Khan “lacks the legal power” to extend the ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) to the whole of the capital, five Conservative-led councils have argued in the high court. Lawyers for four outer London boroughs – Bexley, Bromley, Harrow and Hillingdon – and Surrey county council said that “key information was not disclosed” in consultations over the proposed expansion of the Ulez. – Guardian

A £1bn cash injection will not be enough to steady the ship at crisis-hit Thames Water, the industry regulator has warned. Ofwat said the cash that Thames is currently seeking from investors is only expected to get the troubled company through to the end of March 2025, with further injections needed for a lasting turnaround beyond that. – Telegraph

The planned £4 billion sale of Center Parcs is said to be hanging in the balance after a number of prospective bidders dropped out of the race amid a sharp downturn in private equity dealmaking. First-round bids were due towards the end of June, with Brookfield Property Partners, which has owned Center Parcs since 2015, taking a handful of parties through to the second stage. – The Times

Matalan has been accused of employing “cowboy buying practices” by a group of Asian suppliers after the retailer reportedly asked for price cuts of 20 percent on some clothing orders. The manufacturers, who spoke to The Times on condition of anonymity, claimed that the discount fashion and homeware chain is engaged in some of the “most aggressive, unreasonable buying practices” they had ever seen. – The Times

US close

Stock markets were closed.on Wall Street on Tuesday, for the Independence Day federal holiday.

At the end of a holiday-shortened session on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.03% at 34,418.47.

The S&P 500 added 0.12% to 4,455.59, and the Nasdaq Composite finished up the day ahead 0.12% at 13,816.77.