Dechra profits surge, TRIG to buy four solar projects in Spain
London open
The FTSE 100 is expected to open 26 points higher on Monday, having closed down 0.36% at 7,138.35 on Friday.
Stocks to watch
Veterinary drug maker Dechra Pharmaceuticals reported a surge in profits and lifted its dividend as people spent more on pet welfare during Covid-19 lockdowns. The company on Monday said underlying operating profit increased by 29.2% to £162.2m on the back of revenue growth of 21.0% to £608.0m. The full-year dividend rose 18.1% to 40.50p a share.
The Renewables Infrastructure Group has exchanged contracts to acquire a 100% interest in four solar photovoltaic (PV) sites in the province of Cadiz, Spain, with a total capacity of 234MW. The company said the transaction was expected to complete for the three projects that are ready-to-build in the third quarter, while the fourth was expected to complete in the first quarter of 2022 once development activities were finalised and it was ready-to-build.
Newspaper round-up
The labour crisis could last for up to two years, Britain’s leading business lobby group has warned, as it called for ministers to take action on visas for foreign workers and stop “waiting for shortages to solve themselves”. Amid the most severe labour crunch since the 1970s, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) launched a broadside against the government, saying the UK’s economic recovery from the winter lockdown was being undermined by a lack of skills in key positions, with mounting risks that the problem would continue for some time. - Guardian
Burger chain Byron has been accused of creating a “hostile environment” between managers and waiting staff who fear their tips are about to be diverted to increase pay for kitchen workers and restaurant managers. Byron splits the 10% service charge it applies to bills between waiting staff, who get 70%, and kitchen workers, who get 30%. - Guardian
Russia’s Vladimir Putin is orchestrating a deliberate energy supply crisis in Europe by restricting the seasonal flows of pipeline gas, preventing the region rebuilding its severely depleted inventories fast enough before the onset of winter. The UK is not the target of this geostrategic squeeze but is dangerously exposed after having slashed its gas storage capacity to wafer-thin levels in order to save costs. The country must rely on energy back-up through gas and electricity interconnectors to the Continent, which cannot be taken for granted in emergency circumstances. - Telegraph
British Airways pilots are set to be paid less than their budget airline counterparts at easyJet under sweeping reforms to the UK flag carrier’s short-haul operation at Gatwick airport. Industry insiders say junior BA captains will be paid less than £100,000 a year under the new deal, less than the £108,000 starting salary paid to their peers at easyJet. - Telegraph
Schroders is the biggest UK investment house to have failed to meet the standards of a new stewardship code for those investing on behalf of savers and pensioners. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has today announced a list of successful signatories to the revised UK code, which sets standards for asset managers, pension schemes and insurers to explain how they are creating “long-term value for clients and beneficiaries leading to sustainable benefits for the economy”. - The Times
US close
Stocks closed in a mixed state on Wall Street on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.21% at 35,369.09.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.03% to 4,535.43, while the Nasdaq Composite managed gains of 0.21% to 15,363.52.