Glencore to stick with main listing in boost to London market
It said on unveiling half-year results that moving its primary listing away from London would not deliver better value to shareholders in a welcome reprieve for the London Stock Market.
In a presentation alongside results, Glencore said: 'Of the major global equity exchanges, the scale and depth of US capital markets is unrivalled but, having considered the costs and benefits, including in respect of indexation, we do not believe that becoming a US domestic issuer… would be value accretive for shareholders at this point in time.'
It added: 'We will continue to monitor market developments and keep this topic under review.'
In a blow to its 150,000 workers globally, Glencore said it was targeting cost cuts of about 1.0 billion dollars (£753 million) by the end of 2026, of which more than half will be completed by the end of the year, following a review.
It said savings would come from cutting its workforce as it streamlines its operations across 'energy, consumables, contractors, maintenance and administrative functions'.
The cost-cutting drive came as Glencore posted a 14% drop in underlying earnings to 5.43 billion dollars (£4.09 billion).
Net losses nearly trebled to 655 million dollars (£493 million) from 233 million dollars (£175 million) a year ago.
The FTSE 100 firm's primary listing is currently in London, although it is also listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
It listed in London 14 years ago in a blockbuster flotation.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
8 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Footsie hits record high on Ukraine peace hopes: Blue-chip index ends session up 0.3% at 9189.22
The FTSE 100 hit a record yesterday as European markets rallied on hopes of peace in Ukraine. London's index of blue-chip stocks ended the session up 0.3 per cent at 9189.22 – its highest ever close. The rally came after Donald Trump held talks with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and European allies, including Keir Starmer, at the White House. The US President said he has begun arranging talks between Zelensky and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, sparking hopes of an imminent end to the conflict after more than three years of war. In London, the FTSE 100 – which has gained more than 12 per cent this year – was boosted by retail stocks, offsetting a defence sector drop. And the mid-cap FTSE 250 rose 0.4 per cent, snapping a three-day losing streak. In Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris rose 1.2 per cent, while Germany's DAX 40 closed up 0.5 per cent. Meanwhile, oil prices slumped on investor expectations that a peace deal will likely lead to an easing of sanctions on Russia. Despite the stock market rally, London-listed defence giants took a hit on signs that the conflict in Ukraine could come to an end. The companies have been boosted as European leaders raced to rearm amid conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. Babcock International fell 7.4 per cent, BAE Systems dropped 3.9 per cent and Rolls-Royce lost 2.1 per cent. But the losses were offset by retailers, which made big gains despite news of a delay to official sales data. JD Sports jumped 6.8 per cent following an upbeat statement from protein powder seller Applied Nutrition, which is backed by the sportswear chain. Shares in Marks & Spencer rose 3.5 per cent and Next shares were up 3 per cent. Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at broker AJ Bell, said: 'Far from the adversarial and uncomfortable scenes in the White House earlier this year, the dynamic between the presidents of the US and Ukraine was positive, even friendly.' 'There seems to have been a shift and there may be a feeling that if the fighting ends, the requirements for additional armaments could end with it, although any peacekeeping forces will need kitting out appropriately.'
The Independent
12 hours ago
- The Independent
FTSE posts new closing high as falls in defence stocks are offset by retail gains
The FTSE 100 posted a new closing high on Tuesday as gains in retailers offset heavy falls in defence stocks which slid as hopes grew of progress in peace talks between Ukraine and Russia. The FTSE 100 index closed up 31.48 points, 0.3%, at 9,157.74. The FTSE 250 ended up 83.69 points, 0.4%, at 21,833.26 while the AIM All-Share finished 2.06 points higher, 0.3%, at 763.22. In Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris rose 1.3%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt closed up 0.5%. In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.2%, the S&P 500 was 0.3% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 1.0%. President Donald Trump said that US air support and European ground troops could be part of security guarantees for Ukraine, warning of a 'rough' situation if talks between Moscow and Kyiv fail. 'When it comes to security, they're willing to put people on the ground,' he told Fox News, referring to the European allies whom he met in the White House on Monday. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said that security guarantees were a 'key issue, a starting point for ending the war'. Mr Trump said that following his talks on Monday with European leaders he is pushing to organise a bilateral summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Mr Zelensky – followed by another where he will join. In London, defence stocks fell sharply with Babcock International down 7.4%, BAE Systems down 3.6% and Rolls-Royce down 2.1%. Helping offset this were gains in retailers despite news of a delay to official sales data. The Office for National Statistics said it was delaying the release of UK retail sales figures, which were due to be published on Friday, so it can carry out further 'quality assurance' work on the data. The UK's statistics agency said retail sales figures for July will now to be released on September 5, two weeks later than previously planned. An ONS spokesperson told the Financial Times that further information would be provided when the full data was released. It is the latest setback for the ONS which had to correct April's consumer price index after finding an error stemming from a vehicle excise duty calculation. More encouragingly, food retailers, Tesco and Sainsbury, rose 1.5% and 1.1% respectively, as figures from market researcher Worldpanel showed UK grocery sales rose 4.0% year-on-year in the 4 weeks to August 10. Broker Citi noted that Tesco and Sainsbury again outperformed the market with sales up 7.1% and 4.8%. Marks & Spencer rose 3.5% as the survey showed sales increased 6.1%, Citi said. JD Sports jumped 6.8%, supported by a positive statement from Applied Nutrition, which rose 12%. JD Sports holds a just under 10% stake in Applied Nutrition which listed in London last year. On Tuesday, the Liverpool-based sports nutrition brand, Applied Nutrition, said revenue will be ahead of City expectations for the financial year just ended, and predicted further growth ahead. Applied Nutrition expects revenue for the financial year ending July 31 of £107 million, up 24% from £86 million in financial 2024, and ahead of market expectations for £100 million. Elsewhere, Anglo American said it intends to seek damages after Peabody Energy Corp's 'wrongful termination' of its bid to acquire Anglo American's steelmaking coal assets in Australia. New York Stock Exchange-listed Peabody announced that it has dropped its plan to buy a steelmaking coal portfolio from Anglo American nearly five months after an 'ignition event' at the Moranbah North mine on March 31. Anglo American temporarily suspended mining operations at Moranbah North following the fire. Anglo American chief executive officer Duncan Wanblad said the fire does not constitute a 'material adverse change', under the definitive agreements with Peabody. Shares in Anglo American closed up 1.6%. The pound eased to 1.3503 US dollars late on Tuesday afternoon in London, compared to 1.3517 dollars at the equities close on Monday. The euro edged up to 1.1669 dollars, higher against 1.1667 dollars. Against the yen, the dollar was trading higher at 147.75 yen compared to 146.96 yen. The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was at 4.31%, narrowed from 4.35%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was 4.91%, trimmed from 4.95%. On the FTSE 250, Metro Bank rose 6.2% as RBC Capital Markets upgraded to 'outperform', citing a valuation discount to its peers. But International Workplace Group slid 13% as it warned annual adjusted earnings would be towards the bottom end of guidance. The Zug, Switzerland-based provider of hybrid workspace, expects adjusted earning before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation at the low-end of the 525 million US dollars (£389 million) to 565 million dollars (£418 million) guidance range, due to further investment in Managed and Franchise segment growth. In the half year, IWG said it invested 15 million US dollars (£11 milion) in the partnership sales team in its Managed & Franchised division to accelerate the development of its pipeline. It said 413 new locations were signed in the first half of the year, up 6.7% from 387 a year ago. Chief executive Mark Dixon said IWG had opened more locations in the last six months than in the entire first decade of its existence. A barrel of Brent was little changed at 66.08 US dollars late on Tuesday afternoon from 66.07 dollars on Monday. Gold ebbed to 3,325.33 dollars (£2,464.5) an ounce against 3,334.83 dollars (£2,471.54). The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were: JD Sports, up 6p at 93.8p; Marks & Spencer, up 12p at 358.6p; Diageo, up 66p at 2,101p; Persimmon, up 34.5p at 1,130.5p; and IMI up 66p at 2,316p. The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were: Babcock International, down 78p at 969p; Fresnillo, down 71p at 1,625p; BAE Systems, down 69.5p at 1,721p; Rolls-Royce, down 22.5p at 1,059.5p; and Endeavour Mining, down 50p at 2,436p. Wednesday's local corporate calendar has half-year results from Costain Group, Ithaca Energy and OSB Bank. The global economic calendar on Wednesday has interest rate decisions in China and Sweden, UK inflation figures and the minutes of the July FOMC meeting.
Daily Mail
14 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Mining giant BHP's profits slump to five-year low - but record output cheers investors
Mining giant BHP posted its weakest annual underlying profit in five years on Tuesday after oversupply concerns and slowing Chinese demand weighed on iron ore prices. Prices for iron ore, the FTSE 100-listed miner's top-earning commodity, have been relatively volatile this year, with futures trading at $112 per tonne in October 2024 compared with around $101/t at time of writing. Futures have been under pressure from additional supply from Australia, Brazil and South Africa, as well as weaker Chinese steel consumption, which has kept prices well below the $140/t seen in January 2024 and Covid-era highs touching $220/t. BHP, the world's largest listed miner, reported an underlying attributable profit of $10.16billion for the year ended 30 June, missing forecasts of $10.22billion and down from $13.66billion last year. It marked the group's lowest profit since 2020. BHP announced a final dividend of $0.60 per share, down from $0.74 a year earlier and taking the total annual payout to $1.10 - the miner's weakest dividend since 2017. But BHP shares rose on Tuesday morning as boss Mike Henry cheered 'record production' and a 'strong performance' despite a 'backdrop of global disruption'. The group met full-year production guidance across all assets, setting new records in copper and iron ore output. Henry said BHP would 'continue to invest in growth', earmarking $11billion in capital and exploration to be spent over each of the next two years He added: 'The global economic outlook is mixed. Growth is expected to ease to 3 per cent or slightly below in the near-term amid shifting trade policies, yet demand for commodities remains strong, particularly in China and India. 'We remain confident in the long-term fundamentals of steelmaking materials, copper and fertilisers, which are critical to global growth, urbanisation and the energy transition. 'Backed by a diversified portfolio of large, long-life assets, disciplined low-cost operations and a strong balance sheet, BHP is well-positioned to deliver enduring value through the cycle.' BHP shares were up 1.9 per cent to 2,024p in early trading in London, where the group has its secondary listing. Shares in BHP's primary market of Australia also rose. Adam Vettese, market analyst for eToro, said: 'BHP offers resilience and defensive attributes that appeal to long term investors, even as near-term profits are hit by commodity weakness. 'Investors will need to accept some short-term pain for the longer-term opportunity, but BHP's scale, asset quality and strategy underpin a compelling investment case as the energy transition accelerates.' Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, added: 'What sets BHP apart is its enviable cost base.
