Source: Sharecast
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Marks & Spencer Group posted a surge in half-year profits on Wednesday, as the high street retailer rebounded from 2025's devastating cyber attack. Sales in the 26 weeks ended 26 September jumped 16.2% at £9.26bn, while adjusted pre-tax profits soared to £403.2m from £184.1m a year earlier. However, on a two-year basis, profits remained below 2024/25's interim income of £413.1m, as strong demand for M&S's food offering failed to offset weaker conditions in clothing.
Pub chain JD Wetherspoon said on Wednesday that like-for-like sales rose 8.2% in the first 14 weeks of the financial year, with total sales up 9.1%, as the group continued to outperform the wider hospitality sector. Bar sales increased 9.4%, food sales rose 6.8%, and slot and fruit machine revenues were 7.1% higher, outweighing a 1.4% decline in hotel room sales. Wetherspoons said recent trading remained robust, although growth eased slightly to 7.5% in the most recent five weeks from 8.6% in the first nine weeks of the period. Net debt stood at £736m at the end of the quarter, down from £756m a year earlier.
Medical technology group Smith & Nephew has cut its full-year guidance due to weaker-than-expected growth in its US Orthopaedics business. S&N now expects underlying revenue growth of around 3%, down from 4% previously, while guidance for trading profit growth was cut to 4% from 8%. The downgrade came as S&N reported a 3.4% increase in third-quarter revenues to $1.55bn, driven by strong demand in sports medicine and an improved performance in advanced wound management.
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Andy Burnham is preparing to announce billions of pounds of trade deals with the EU covering everything from youth visas to pet passports under his vision of a much closer relationship with the bloc. With the prime minister scheduled to meet his European counterparts in Brussels on 20 November, officials have all but agreed three deals that would allow farmers to sell freely to the continent and travellers to take their animals abroad more easily. – Guardian
Energy bosses in the UK will have their bonuses curtailed when suppliers and brokers break the rules under a crackdown on mis-selling. Through the energy independence bill, which will be introduced on Wednesday, Ofgem will be given new powers to order compensation, impose fines and ban rogue operators that have pushed businesses and households into overpriced contracts. – Guardian
The annual cost of hiring a minimum-wage worker is poised to jump by more than £4,000 in just three years, analysis shows. The sharp rise in staff costs since Labour came to power follows a series of inflation-busting increases to the minimum wage, with the National Living Wage scheduled to rise by 3.9% next year. Analysis by the Centre for Policy Studies found that from April 2027, businesses will spend an additional £4,462 a year to employ a 21-year-old staff member on the minimum wage compared with 2024. – Telegraph
British food suppliers have been caught up in the wave of fridge hacks that has hit supermarkets across Europe. A UK fruit and vegetable wholesaler said that six out of its 10 fridges had been hacked on Monday, while the Association of Independent Meat Suppliers said some of its members had become "collateral" in the cyber attack. The National Cyber Security Centre, an arm of GCHQ, said on Tuesday it was aware of "instances where vulnerable technology has been exploited in the UK". – Telegraph
Advanced Micro Devices forecast fourth-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates on Tuesday and the company's data-centre revenue hit a record on robust demand as its multibillion-dollar effort to challenge Nvidia's dominance of the AI chip market gathers pace. The upbeat forecast offered some relief to investors rattled by mounting concerns over the cost of the massive AI buildout and Intel's weak outlook. – The Times
US CLOSE
Major indices delivered a mixed performance on Tuesday, with Apple dragging the Dow into the red but chip stocks lifting the S&P 500 and Nasdaq higher.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.38% lower at 51,786.72, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.36% to 7,568.92 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.83% firmer at 25,372.01.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com