Helios Towers H1 earnings grow; Marshalls warns over tough backdrop

London pre-open

The FTSE 100 was called to open three points lower at 7,512.

Stocks to watch

Helios Towers backed its guidance for the year and posted a jump in first-half earnings as it hailed strong organic tenancy growth.

In the six months to 30 June, adjusted EBITDA rose 19% to $136.1m, with tenancies up 20% at 20,549.

Building and landscaping materials company Marshalls held full year guidance as it posted interim profits, but noted that the tough economic backdrop would hit consumer confidence.

The company said adjusted core earnings rose 14% to £64.2m in the six months to June 30. It expects full year numbers to be in line with expectations as building products and its new Marley acquisition offset weaker trading in landscaping, which is exposed to discretionary spending.

Newspaper round-up

More than 115,000 UK postal workers have voted overwhelmingly for further industrial action over working conditions, ahead of four days of strikes already planned for later this month and early September. The Communication Workers Union (CWU) said almost 99% of members voted in favour of taking further strike action on a 72% turnout. – Guardian

The Government has blocked the takeover of a Bristol-based electronic design company by a Hong Kong rival in a fresh sign if Britain’s increasing hostility to Chinese investment. The Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, who is tipped by some Conservatives to be the next chancellor, ruled that stopping the acquisition of Pulsic, whose software can be used to build circuits, by Super Orange HK was “necessary and proportionate to mitigate the risk to national security”. – Telegraph

The owner of Madame Tussauds has been hit with a winding up petition by Experian as the leisure operator seeks to bounce back from the upheaval of pandemic lockdowns. Merlin Entertainments – which also runs Alton Towers, Warwick Castle and Legoland Windsor – is facing the threat of legal proceedings from Experian, a FTSE 100 listed data company, amid a dispute over a debt. – Telegraph

A director of Ofgem has quit in protest at its decision to add hundreds of pounds to household bills this winter by changing the way it calculates the energy price cap. Christine Farnish said she had resigned because did not believe that the regulator had “struck the right balance between the interests of consumers and the interests of suppliers”. – The Times

PwC’s partners, who were paid more than £1 million for the first time ever this summer, will take a pay cut next year to fund rises for the accountancy group’s rank-and-file staff. On average, the 995 members of the Big Four firm’s top executive tier were paid £920,000 for their work in the year to end of June. That was up 12 per cent on what they received in 2021. – The Times

US Close

US stocks closed in negative territory on Wednesday, after attention on better-than-expected retail sales gave way to the latest meeting minutes from the US Federal Reserve.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the session down 0.5% at 33,980.32, as the S&P 500 lost 0.72% to 4,274.04 and the Nasdaq Composite was off 1.25% at 12,938.12.