Hilton Food Group, down 4.2%, in its trading update for the 52-week period ended 29 December 2024, announced that it expects the annual results to be in line with market expectations. Additionally, its strong trading has continued in the final quarter of the year across all three geographical operating regions, driven by the core retail meat volume, which grew by +4.0% compared to the same period last year.
Science Group, up 0.2%, in its trading update for the year ended 31 December 2024, announced that it expects to deliver another record year of adjusted operating profit in line or slightly ahead of the board expectations. The company has retained a strong balance sheet with significant cash resources. The group's term loan and (undrawn) revolving credit facility expires in 2026 as announced on 11 November 2024. As at 31 December 2024, the group had gross cash of £38.6m and net funds of £26.8m. Moreover, the 2024 audited results are anticipated to be released in late March or early April.
GetBusy, down 9.6%, announced that it has intensified its strategic partnership with Intuit, a provider of tax software to accounting professionals, via the addition of Intuit’s ProConnect Tax into the suite of its products integrating natively with SmartVault. Under the contract, SmartVault will launch a co-branded integrated document management and workflow package exclusively for customers of ProConnect Tax, Intuit's fast-growing online professional tax software application with built-in tax advisory insights.
Frontier Developments, down 6.6%, announced that it expects to release its interim financial results for H1 FY25, the period from 1 June 2024 to 30 November 2024, on 15 January 2025.
Quartix Technologies, down 2.6%, today, in its trading statement, announced that it expects revenue, adjusted EBITDA, pre-tax profit and free cashflow for the period of £32.4m, £6.2m, £6.0m, and £2.5m, respectively. The company's net cash balance at period-end stood at £3.1m. Further, it will publish its results for the twelve-month period ended 31 December 2024 on 03 March 2025.
UK markets ended mostly lower last week, amid a sharp rise in the UK’s borrowing costs. On the data front, the UK services PMI rose less than expsected in December, while the nation’s Halifax house prices unexpectedly dropped in December. Meanwhile, the UK BRC like-for-like retail sales unexpectedly climbed in December. The FTSE AIM 100 index fell 2.1% to close at 3,416.0, while the FTSE techMARK 100 index lost 1.0% to end at 6,321.6. Meanwhile, The FTSE 100 index advanced 0.3% to settle at 8,248.5.
US markets ended lower in the previous week, as strong US jobs data dented hopes for more interest rate cuts from the US Federal Reserve this year. On the macro front, the US factory orders unexpectedly declined in November, while the nation’s ADP employment advanced less than expected in December. Additionally, the US Michigan consumer sentiment index dropped more than anticipated in January. Meanwhile, the US ISM services PMI rose more than expected in December, amid strong demand. Moreover, the US JOLTs job openings unexpectedly advanced in November, while the US weekly jobless claims unexpectedly fell in the last week ended 03 January 2025. Additionally, the nation’s nonfarm payrolls advanced more than anticipated in November, while the US unemployment rate unexpectedly declined in December. The DJIA index fell 1.9% to end at 41,938.5, while the NASDAQ index lost 2.3% to close at 19,161.6.
