FTSE 100 Live 25 February: Energy bills rise, Smith & Nephew results top forecasts
07:58 , Graeme Evans
FTSE 100-listed Croda International, the East Yorkshire-based speciality chemicals firm, today reported a decline in annual profits to £260 million.
The fall of 11.6% on a constant currency basis followed a slower than expected recovery in sales, with annual revenues down slightly to $1.6 billion.
Chief executive Steve Foots said: "2024 was another transitional year, following two years of unprecedented demand in 2021 and 2022, with an industry-wide reset from 2023.'
With volumes higher in 2024 and price and mix headwinds likely to diminish, he expects Croda's consumer care and life sciences divisions to grow sales in 2025.
In addition, operational efficiencies should largely offset inflation and the incremental costs of investments coming online.
Overall for 2025, Croda sees adjusted profit between £265 million and £295 million at constant currency.
07:24 , Graeme Evans
Energy bills for millions of households are set to go up by a bigger than expected 6.4% from April.
Industry regulator Ofgem said the cap on gas and electricity prices would have to rise largely because of higher wholesale prices.
It will add around £111 to the average household bill, or about £9.25 per month, increasing it to £1,849. The new cap covers the three month period to June when it will be set again.
Read more here
07:22 , Graeme Evans
Smith & Nephew boss Deepak Nath today said the medical equipment maker's transformation is on track after reporting a strong finish to 2024.
The FTSE 100 company, which is under pressure from activist investor Cevian, said fourth quarter revenues rose 8.3% on an underlying basis.
The full-year figure of $5.8 billion came in 5.3% higher, while the trading profit margin improved to 18.1% from 17.5% in 2023 amid Nath's 12-point plan to make S&N a higher growth company.
He expects the margin to strengthen in the second half of this year as the impact of China headwinds reduce and operational savings are delivered.
Nath said: "There is much more to be done, but we have made solid progress fixing the foundations and expect a step-up in returns in 2025, including significant margin expansion.
'We are confident that this will be the year when transformation starts to unlock substantial value for our shareholders."
Trading profit for the year rose 8.2% to a bigger than expected $1.05 billion.
07:02 , Graeme Evans
The selling pressure on US markets continued last night after the S&P 500 index followed Friday's big reverse with a decline of 0.5%.
The Nasdaq Composite lost 1.2% amid jitters ahead of the release of quarterly results by semiconductor giant Nvidia after Wednesday's closing bell.
The FTSE 100 index is set for another lacklustre session after closing unchanged at 8659 last night. IG Index futures are pointing to a 0.1% decline.
Mining stocks were among those under pressure during trading yesterday, offset by another strong performance by defence firm BAE Systems.
Asia markets also struggled today as the Hang Seng index has fallen by 1.6% and the Nikkei 225 by 1.4%.
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