4imprint FY profits soar, Computacenter delivers double-digit revenue and profit growth

London pre-open

The FTSE 100 was being called to open 112.7 points higher ahead of the bell on Wednesday after closing 0.25% lower on Tuesday at 7,175,70.

Stocks to watch

Promotional product marketer 4imprint on Wednesday reported soaring profits as order numbers recovered from Covid lockdowns.

The company said annual pre-tax profit rose to £30.23m from £3.84m a year earlier as processed orders soared to 1.42m from 960,000 in 2020. "Challenges continue with regard to the ongoing pandemic, supply chain disruption and inflationary pressures. However, the group has a clear strategy and is financially strong. Trading results in the first few weeks of 2022 have been encouraging," said 4imprint.

Computer services provider Computacenter said on Wednesday that it had delivered double-digit revenue and profit growth in 2021, leading the group to hike its full-year dividend.

Computacenter said full-year revenues were 23.6% higher at £6.72bn, while adjusted pre-tax profits were 27.5% stronger at £255.6m. Diluted earnings per share shot up 20.3% to 160.9p. The FTSE 250-listed firm, which credited its improved performance to the "consistent implementation" of its strategy and focusing on the long-term consequences of its decisions, also opted to raise its full-year dividend per share by 30.8% to 66.3p.

Newspaper round-up

HSBC is to shut a further 69 branches, on top of the 82 it axed last year, claiming the pandemic has accelerated the shift to digital banking. It is the latest in a line of banks to announce it is reducing its network in response to changing customer habits. Consumer organisation Which? said the number of closures during the last few years was "alarming" and that millions of people were not yet ready or able to go fully digital. - Guardian

The prospect of fracking in England has been dealt another blow as only a handful of MPs for constituencies with exploration licences support the measure in their area, the Guardian can reveal. When asked if they would support fracking in their constituencies, only five of the 138 MPs said they would. 41said they would be against it, while the rest did not reply, or declined to comment. - Guardian

Elon Musk has blamed the soaring cost of parts for raising the price of every Tesla model. The electric car maker has increased the cost of its cars in the UK in recent days and raised them twice in the US and China over the past week. Its cheapest car in Britain, the Model 3, now costs £43,990, or £1,000 more than earlier this month. The price of the Long Range version is now £2,000 higher. - Telegraph

The boss of Discovery received a total pay package worth $246.6m last year as the American media group prepares for its blockbuster merger with WarnerMedia. David Zaslav's overall compensation, which includes stock options worth almost $203.0m, is more than double that of any other disclosed by a S&P 500 company for 2021 so far. His base salary remained at $3.0m, according to a market filing. His pay was boosted by stock awards worth $13.1m and bonus payments of $26.4m, on top of the vast tranche of options handed to him last spring. - Telegraph

Regulators are investigating possible conflicts of interest at America's biggest accounting firms, such as Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC. The US Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into whether consulting and other non-audit services sold by the firms undermine their ability to conduct audits independently. - Telegraph

US close

Wall Street stocks closed firmly above the waterline on Tuesday, even as traders remained concerned about the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and a spike in Covid-19 cases in China, ahead of the Federal Reserve's all-important interest rate decision.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.82% at 33,544.34, while the S&P 500 added 2.14% to 4,262.45 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 2.92% stronger at 12,948.62.