Markets Overview:

The UK 100 called to open +25 points at 8,780.  The UK 100 looks set to bounce again this morning, following an upbeat session on Wall Street overnight.

Stocks rose Stateside on Wednesday, staging a recovery rally after back-to-back losses as investors hoped that an exemption for automakers to President Donald Trump’s controversial tariffs opened the floodgates for more concessions.  The Dow Jones rebounded 485.60 points, or 1.14%, to finish at 43,006.59, regaining ground after plunging more than 1,300 points over the last two sessions. The S&P added 1.12% to 5,842.63, while the Nasdaq climbed 1.46% to 18,552.73.  Stocks took a leg up after the White House said it granted a one-month delay for tariffs on automakers whose cars comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Stellantis surged more than 9%, while Ford and General Motors added more than 5% and 7%, respectively.  White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also said Trump was open to providing additional exemptions on the taxes.

Company News & Broker Comments:

Company News:

Admiral has reported a significant jump in profit for 2024. Earnings per share nearly doubled to 216.6p, up from 111.2p in the previous year, as pre-tax earnings increased by 90% to £839.2m Off the back of these bumper numbers, the insurer’s board proposed a final dividend of 121.0p per share, bringing the total for the year to 192.0p, an 86% increase from 2023.  The final dividend, which included a normal dividend of 91.4p and a special dividend of 29.6p, will be paid on 13 June 2025.  Admiral’s customer base expanded by 14% in the year to 11.1m. The number of UK insurance customers grew by 19% to 8.8m, while the number of international insurance customers saw a slight decline to 2.1m.  Turnover rose by 28% to £6.15bn, as insurance revenue grew by 37% to £4.78bn.  Admiral’s UK Motor division delivered some of its best results on record after several challenging years. The division reported a 15% increase in customer numbers “driven by reducing prices ahead of the market around the start of the year,” which helped produce a 33 per cent jump in division turnover and 50% rise in insurance revenue.

Coats Group reported strong financial results for 2024, with an 8% increase in revenue and a 16% rise in adjusted EBIT. The company achieved significant market share gains in apparel and footwear, and saw a 144% revenue growth in recycled thread products. Strategic initiatives, including the closure of the Toluca site and a UK pension de-risking, have positioned Coats for further growth. The company has set ambitious medium-term targets, including organic revenue growth of over 5% and EBIT margins of 19-21%, while maintaining a strong financial position to support capital allocation strategies.

Endeavour Mining reported strong financial results for FY-2024, with a record free cash flow of $268 million in Q4 and a 32% increase in proven and probable reserves. The company achieved a 72% increase in adjusted EBITDA for Q4 compared to the previous quarter, and declared a record $240 million dividend for the year. Endeavour’s robust performance is attributed to its strategic growth projects and focus on operational efficiency, positioning it as a low-cost leader in the gold mining sector. The company plans to continue maximizing free cash flow and enhancing shareholder returns, while advancing exploration projects to support future growth.

ITV has completed its £150M ($193M) costs savings program a year early, according to full-year results published this morning, which showed record ITV Studios profits but a worrying dip in paid subscribers to streamer ITVX.  Nearly a year ago, ITV implemented dozens of layoffs, amounting to around 200, and today it revealed that it delivered £60M of savings in 2024, which was £10M up on the prior year.  This comprised £20M of the initial mega £150M savings plan, which has now been completed a year early, while £40M of savings were part of what is called “the ongoing transformation and efficiency programme.”  Relating to the “significant restructuring and transformation programme of the business,” ITV said it took a one-off restructuring and transformation cost of £50M. Redundancy costs, consultancy fees and other related costs of £36M were also noted. ITV has consistently said it will make savings while continuing to spend money on shows. Overall, ITV saw a slight dip in revenue of 4% to £3.8B, while EBITA was up 11% to £542M – albeit unsurprisingly considering profits tumbled last year tumbled last year by 32%.

Informa reported strong financial results for 2024, achieving double-digit revenue and profit growth, and resuming share buybacks. The company plans further growth through its 2025-2028 One Informa strategy, emphasizing structural growth in B2B events and specialist knowledge, and expanding its presence in fast-growing regions like the GCC. A new strategic partnership with Dubai World Trade Centre is set to enhance Informa’s B2B events platform in the UAE, promising significant revenue and operating margins.

PageGroup announced this morning a slump in 2024 as economic uncertainty continued to hit client and candidate confidence.  Pre-tax profit for the year to December fell 58% to £49.1m on revenue of £1.73bn, down 13.5%. Page said the conversion of interviews to accepted offers “remains the most significant area of challenge”, adding that the slow end to 2024 had continued into the first two months of the new year.  The company cut 481 jobs, or “fee earners” as it calls recruiters, and finished the year with a headcount of 7,361.

Rentokil Initial reported its 2024 preliminary results, showing a challenging year with lower profits and margins, but in line with revised guidance. The company is progressing with the integration of Terminix, expected to complete by the end of 2026, which has impacted North American performance. Despite this, improvements in colleague and customer retention were noted. The company is revising its branding and branch strategy to enhance growth and efficiency, aiming for North American margins to exceed 20% post-integration. Rentokil Initial remains confident in delivering sustained growth due to its global presence, strong brand portfolio, and focus on customer service and innovation.

Broker Comments:

No New Broker Comments

Reporting Today:

UK

Admiral Group (ADM)

Coats Group (COA)

Elementis (ELM)

Endeavour Mining (EDV)

Grafton Group (GFTU)

Harbour Energy (HBR)

Hunting (HTG)

ITV (ITV)

Informa (INF)

Melrose Industries (MRO)

PageGroup (PAGE)

Rentokil Initial (RTO)

Vesuvius (VSVS)

US

JD.com (JD) PMO

Broadcom (AVGO) AMC

Costco Wholesale (COST) AMC

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) AMC

Reporting Tomorrow:

UK

Just Group (JUST)

Schroders (SDR)

US

None

In Focus Today:

EU Retail Sales

ECB Main Refinancing Operations Rate

ECB Monetary Policy Statement

ECB Rate On Deposit Facility

US Initial Jobless Claims

US Nonfarm Productivity

US Unit Labor Costs

ECB Press Conference

Today’s Ex-Dividends:

UK 100 companies going ex-dividend on 6th March 2025:

Rio Tinto

HSBC Holdings

LondonMetric Property

Berkeley Group Holdings

UK 250 companies going ex-dividend on 6th March 2025:

BBGI Global Infrastructure S.A.

Foresight Environmental Infrastructure

North Atlantic Smaller Companies Inv Tst

Energean

Assura

HICL Infrastructure

Dr. Martens

Temple Bar Investment Trust

JPMorgan Global Growth & Income

Genus

Renishaw

Personal Assets Trust

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