Persimmon interim profits surge, Hochschild reports 'strong rebound'

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The FTSE 100 is expected to open 17 points higher on Wednesday, having closed up 0.38% at 7,181.11 on Tuesday.

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Interim profits at house builder Persimmon surged on the back of increased demand and government support measures as Covid curbs were eased, the company reported on Wednesday. Pre-tax profit for the six months to June 30 rose to £480.1m from £292.4m on revenue of £1.84bn compared with £1.19bn a year earlier. The dividend was lifted to 110p a share from 70p. Forward sales were currently at £2.23bn, including legal completions in the second half so far, up 9% on the pre-pandemic trading year of 2019.

Hochschild Mining reported a “strong rebound” in profitability in its first half on Wednesday, with revenue rising to $394.8m, from $232m year-on-year. The FTSE 250 company said its adjusted EBITDA totalled $198.5m for the six months ended 30 June, up from $80.6m a year earlier, as it swung to pre-exceptional basic earnings per share of eight US cents, from a loss of one cent per share a year earlier. Its cash and cash equivalent balance stood at $256.9m at period end, compared to $231.9m at the end of December.

Newspaper round-up

Rishi Sunak has come under further pressure to suspend the state pension triple lock after wage figures showed that the chancellor is on course to pay pensioners a rise of more than 8% next year. Sunak is understood to be considering telling Britain’s 12 million state pension claimants that the pandemic has artificially inflated the official wages figures and a new formula is needed to calculate the rise in the basic state pension for next year.- Guardian

Shareholders in the asthma inhaler maker Vectura have been urged to reject a £1.1bn takeover by the tobacco company Philip Morris International (PMI), in an open letter signed by 35 health charities, public health experts and doctors from around the world. Investors in the Wiltshire-based respiratory medicine specialist have until 15 September to decide whether to sell their shares to PMI, which has touted its ambitions for a “smoke-free” future but still derives 75% of its revenue from cigarettes. - Guardian

Nando’s has been forced to shut restaurants and reduce hours at some stores after its chicken deliveries were hit by a nationwide shortage of lorry drivers. The popular restaurant chain, known for its spicy peri-peri chicken, revealed it would lend 70 staff to its suppliers to minimise disruption, which is affecting around 50 of its restaurants. - Telegraph

Three hundred workers are being taken on by Wrightbus as the company accelerates its plans for growth in a new era of zero-emission transport. “We are firmly back in business, creating jobs,” said Jo Bamford, son of Lord Bamford, the JCB chairman and owner, who rescued the business in 2019 when the workforce numbered only 56. The new jobs will take employee numbers at its plant in Ballymena to more than 900. - The Times

The sale of new boilers that run exclusively on natural gas could be banned by 2026 in the UK's push to hit climate goals. The Government is consulting on plans to make sure that all new boilers are capable of running on hydrogen instead. Hydrogen does not produce carbon dioxide when burned and ministers hope it could supply up to 35pc of the UK's energy by 2050. - The Times

US close

Wall Street stocks closed sharply lower on Tuesday as market participants digested a weaker-than-expected print for July's key retail sales report.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.79% at 35,343.28, while the S&P 500 was 0.71% weaker at 4,448.08 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.93% softer at 14,656.18.

The Dow closed 282.12 points lower on Tuesday, reversing gains recorded in the previous session and knocking the blue-chip index off its record high.

Tuesday's primary focus was the closely watched retail sales data from the Census Bureau, with the report revealing Americans tightened their purse strings unexpectedly last month, with US retail sales volumes dropping at a month-on-month pace of 1.1% in July to $617.7bn - well below the 0.2% dip that most forecasters had pencilled-in.

Elsewhere on the macro front, US industrial production accelerated sharply last month, led by gains in manufacturing of motor vehicles, business equipment and defence and space equipment. According to the Department of Commerce, total output jumped at a month-on-month clip of 0.9% in July, while manufacturing output was especially strong, more than doubling economists' forecasts with a rise of 1.4%.