Hilton Food Group, down 0.9%, announced that it has formed a 10-year Joint Venture (JV) with the National Agricultural Development Company (NADEC) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA or the Kingdom), expanding the Group's global reach into the Middle East. This long-term collaboration, initially for 10 years, combines Hilton Foods' expertise in meat processing and packaging with NADEC's extensive local cattle operations. The JV is targeting to commence operations by H2 2026 and will operate within the framework of Hilton Foods' Sustainable Protein Plan.
Quartix Technologies, up 21.0%, in its full-year results, announced that revenues rose to £32.40m from £29.88m recorded in the previous year. Profit before tax stood at £6.31m compared to a loss of £1.08m. The company has proposed a final dividend payment of 3.00p per share (2023: 1.50p).
LPA Group, up 2.7%, announced that it has signed a £1.72m contract with a major UK-based train builder to supply inter-car jumpers for the replacement programme on the Electrostar fleet.
Cambridge Cognition, down 2.4%, announced that its CANTAB has significant involvement in one of the largest brain health studies to date, the Intuition Brain Health study. The study utilised the company’s CANTAB platform in a large-scale evaluation of cognitive function using mobile technology.
CyanConnode, down 1.8%, announced that its subsidiary, CyanConnode India Pvt Ltd has received two major follow-on orders for 872,000 Omnimesh Modules from Montecarlo Limited, a leading infrastructure conglomerate in India. The orders include Omnimesh Next-Gen In-Meter Gateways, which integrate communication systems directly within smart meters, eliminating the need for externally mounted gateways and thereby simplifying and accelerating installations.
Netcall, down 0.4%, in its interim results, announced that revenues rose to £23.04m from £18.91m recorded in the same period of the previous year. Profits before tax narrowed to £3.69m from £3.87m. Its net cash as at 31 December 2024 stood at £21.97m (30 June 2024: £34.00m).
UK markets ended mostly lower last week, amid concerns over impact of the US tariff policies on global economic growth. On the data front, the UK manufacturing PMI deteriorated at the steepest pace in fourteen months in February, amid ongoing worries about weak demand and rising cost pressures, while the nation’s services PMI rose less than anticipated in February. Moreover, the UK Halifax house prices unexpectedly fell in February. The FTSE 100 index declined 1.5% to settle at 8,679.9, while the FTSE AIM 100 index fell 1.2% to close at 3,349.7. Meanwhile, the FTSE techMARK 100 index gained 3.6% to end at 6,817.0.
US markets ended lower in the previous week, following disappointing US jobs data. On the macro front, the US ISM manufacturing PMI dropped more than expected in February. Moreover, the US ADP employment rose by less than anticipated in February, while the nation’s nonfarm payrolls climbed less than anticipated in February. Additionally, the US unemployment rate unexpectedly advanced in February. Meanwhile, the US factory orders rebounded more than expected in January, amid a surge in commercial aircraft bookings, while the nation’s ISM services PMI unexpectedly advanced in February. Additionally, the US weekly jobless claims fell more than anticipated in the week ended 28 February 2025. Separately, the US Beige Book indicated that the US economic activity increased slightly since mid-January, with businesses and households expressing continued optimism, amid rising uncertainty surrounding new policies from the Trump administration, particularly on tariffs. The DJIA index fell 2.4% to end at 42,801.7, while the NASDAQ index lost 3.5% to close at 18,196.2.
