Woodside reports record first-half profits, Wood Group posts better-than-expected earnings

London open

The FTSE 100 is expected to open 22 points higher on Tuesday, having closed down 0.06% on Monday at 7,257.82.

Stocks to watch

Woodside Energy reported a record first-half net profit after tax of $1.74bn and a positive free cash flow of $294m for the first six months of the year on Tuesday. On the operational front, the company achieved record production, initiated first production at the Mad Dog Phase 2 Argos platform, and completed a major turnaround at Pluto LNG. Furthermore, Woodside progressed on several developments, including the Scarborough and Sangomar projects, approved investment decisions for the Trion and Julimar-Brunello Phase 3 projects, and advanced in new energy initiatives such as solar generation and carbon capture.

Engineering and consultancy company Wood Group on Tuesday posted better-than-expected adjusted interim earnings, driven by a strong order book, and said annual profit would be ahead of forecasts. Revenue rose 16% to $3bn for the six months to June 30 with adjusted core earnings up 8.5% to $202m. Looking forward, Wood said adjusted core earnings margin was expected to be flat in the nearer term at around 7%, partly reflecting investments being made in the business and the level of low margin pass-through revenue activity

Newspaper round-up

Millions of Britons did not switch on their heating during cold snaps last winter in an attempt to save on their energy bills as the cost of gas and electricity soared. Almost nine in 10 households tried to cut back on their energy usage last winter, while almost half of all British households, or 13m homes, said they did not turn on their heating when it got cold, according to a survey of 4,000 people by the consumer group Which?. – Guardian

A third of working tenants in England do not have enough savings to pay rent if they lose their job, putting them at risk of losing their home, according to research by the housing charity Shelter. Record rents and the rising cost of other household bills are putting tenants’ finances under pressure and mean many are unable to set money aside for emergencies. – Guardian

Britain’s post-Brexit immigration system has helped make the country even more attractive to foreign workers than the European Union, according to job site Indeed. Interest in British job postings from international candidates has soared since the post-Brexit immigration overhaul in 2021, Indeed said. Views of UK job listings on Indeed’s website from people outside of Britain have risen by 142pc since early 2021 and are now far higher than at any point since at least 2017. – Telegraph

Arm, the British chip innovator, has confirmed its intention to float on New York’s Nasdaq exchange, setting the stage for what is likely to be the biggest stock market listing this year. The Cambridge-based company did not reveal the number of shares it was selling or the pricing of its offering in its filing yesterday with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Last week, however, Softbank bought a 25 per cent stake in Arm that valued it at $64 billion, returning money to its Vision Fund and potentially setting a floor for the valuation. Analysts at Redburn said the expectation for the deal was in the $37 billion to $44 billion range, while the total range could be anything between $19 billion and $76 billion. – The Times

The board of Home Reit and its new advisers have been given permission by investors to redraw its investment strategy to get the business back on track. The property group, which billed itself as a “landlord for the homeless”, had asked its shareholders to accept a number of changes at a general meeting yesterday. – The Times

US close

Stocks on Wall Street closed in a mixed fashion on Monday, rebounding somewhat after hitting two-month lows in the prior week.

By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had shed a modest 0.11% to end the session at 34,463.69, while the broader S&P 500 index saw an uptick of 0.69% to 4,399.77.

Leading the way among the primary indices, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.56% to settle at 13,497.59.

On the currency front, the dollar was last down 0.01% against sterling at 78.38p, while it edged down 0.02% on the common currency to trade at 91.76 euro cents.

The greenback also dipped slightly against the yen, by 0.03% to change hands at JPY 146.18.