Auchincloss named permanent BP CEO, Pearson ends 2023 strongly

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The FTSE 100 is expected to open 92 points lower on Wednesday, having closed down 0.48% on Tuesday at 7,558.34.

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BP has named its former chief financial officer Murray Auchincloss as its permanent chief executive, after having served in an interim capacity for the past four months. Auchincloss, who has been part of BP since its merger with Amoco in 1998, had been CFO from July 2020 until September 2023 when he took over the helm following the abrupt departure of former CEO Bernard Looney, who resigned after failing to disclose personal relationships with colleagues. BP announced on Wednesday that, after a long search for internal and external successors to Looney, Auchincloss has been appointed as ongoing CEO with immediate effect.

Pearson reported strong 2023 financial performance in an update Wednesday, with a 5% increase in underlying group sales. The company’s adjusted operating profit was £570m to £575m, a more than 30% increase compared to 2022, resulting in a margin of around 15.5%. It attributed the success to a strong performance in assessment and qualifications, English language learning, cost efficiency measures, and the expansion of generative AI study tools, along with Pearson+ surpassing one million paid subscriptions in the calendar year.

Building products supplier Ibstock said it was confident in its medium-term prospects, despite subdued residential construction markets as fourth-quarter trading was in line with expectations. Full year revenues are expected to have fallen by 21% to around £405m, with adjusted core earnings in line with guidance.

Newspaper round-up

Drax has received permission from the government to fit carbon capture technology to its wood-burning power plant, in a project that could cost bill-payers more than £40bn. The energy secretary, Claire Coutinho, on Tuesday approved the project to convert two of its biomass units to use the technology. – Guardian

BT has become the first major telecoms company to scrap controversial above-inflation price rises for mobile and broadband customers – but not before pushing through a final increase this year. The owner of mobile operator EE has moved to address the pressure on consumers from rising household costs during the cost of living crisis, after telecoms companies were criticised for increasing bills. – Guardian

Royal Mail has warned that it may need a taxpayer bailout to keep the postal service afloat amid a sharp decline in letter sending. Martin Seidenberg, the chief executive, said it was “simply not sustainable” to maintain a delivery network built for 20bn letters when the company was now only delivering 7bn. – Telegraph

A director of the competition regulator has pledged to recuse himself from any review of the Abu Dhabi-backed takeover of The Telegraph owing to potential conflicts of interest. Murdoch MacLennan, a non-executive board member of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), was chief executive of Telegraph Media Group between 2004 and 2017. – Telegraph

Banks could face a £10 billion compensation bill for unfair car finance deals, analysts have suggested. Last week the Financial Conduct Authority said it would investigate whether those who took out loans before January 2021 were unfairly charged more expensive interest rates in return for higher levels of commission paid to car dealers. – The Times

US close

Stocks closed in negative territory on Wall Street on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average finishing down 0.62% at 37,361.12.

The S&P 500 lost 0.37% to 4,765.98, and the Nasdaq Composite was off 0.19% at 14,944.35.