DS Smith, down 5.3%, announced that it has extended its service contract of Kemsley Mill with Voith for the entire stock preparation of four production lines for a further three years. Separately, the company announced the launch of TailorTemp, a new temperature-controlled packaging solution, for the pharmaceutical industry. It added that TailorTemp is crafted from recyclable corrugated cardboard material.
Johnson Matthey, up 4.1%, announced that it has decided to sharply decrease investment in its Hydrogen Technologies division, reducing spending by more than 83% to maintenance levels of no more than £5m (US$6.21m/€5.96m) annually, while also considering other options to further de-risk this business.
Raspberry PI Holdings, up 15.3%, in its trading update, announced that its elevated customer and channel inventory levels continued to normalise in the second half of the year. Additionally, monthly unit shipments recovered steadily from their low point in the summer, with total single-board computer and compute module shipments reaching 7.0m across FY 2024. Its gross profit from the sale of accessories and microcontrollers was strong in the second half and this, together with good cost discipline, means the Board expects to report (subject to external audit) adjusted EBITDA of not less than $36m for FY 2024. Its cash balance as of 31 December 2024 stood at $45m, after strategic purchases of components and continued investment in the company's product roadmap. The group will release its FY 2024 results on 2 April 2025.
Dialight, up 29.3%, in its Q3 trading update, announced that its trading performance for the period was slightly ahead of its expectations. Additionally, its business traded profitably and generated positive operating cash flow. Its group net debt (excluding leases) on 31 December 2024 stood at $14.8m (30 September 2024: $15.4m). The board remains confident that further progress will be made during the rest of the financial year.
Creightons, down 3.2%, announced that it has appointed Mr Paul Watts as an Independent Non-Executive Director with immediate effect.
UK markets ended higher last week, led by gains in the aerospace and defence sector stocks. On the data front, the UK mortgage approvals unexpectedly rose in December. Meanwhile, the UK Nationwide housing prices advanced less than expected in January, while the nation’s BRC shop price index fell in January. The FTSE 100 index advanced 2.0% to settle at 8,674.0, while the FTSE AIM 100 index rose 0.7% to close at 3,455.9. Additionally, the FTSE techMARK 100 index gained 1.9% to end at 6,751.4.
US markets ended mixed in the previous week. On the macro front, the US annualised gross domestic product grew less than expected in 4Q24, while the nation’s durable goods orders unexpectedly fell in December. Moreover, the US pending home sales declined more than expected in December, while the nation’s consumer confidence dropped for a second straight month in January, amid renewed worries over the labour market and inflation. Meanwhile, the US weekly jobless claims dropped more than anticipated in the week ended 24 January 2025, while the nation’s new home sales climbed more than expected in December. Additionally, the US personal income rose as expected in December, while the nation’s personal spending advanced more than expected in December. Also, the US Richmond Fed manufacturing index rose more than expected in January. Separately, the US Federal Reserve (Fed) kept its key interest rates steady at 4.5%, as expected. However, the US Fed’s Chair Jerome Powell said there would be no rush to cut them again until inflation and jobs data made it appropriate. The DJIA index rose 0.3% to end at 44,544.7, while the NASDAQ index lost 1.6% to close at 19,627.4.
