Howden Joinery revenues up YTD, Sainsbury's warns of lower FY profits

London pre-open

The FTSE 100 was being called to open 48.5 points higher ahead of the bell on Thursday after the index closed out the previous session 0.53% higher at 7,425.61.

Stocks to watch

Kitchen supplier Howden Joinery said on Thursday that overall revenues had grown 21.8% year-on-year in the 16 weeks ended 16 April, while same depot revenues were up 20.1%, driven by increases in both prices and volume.

Howden's stated that on a local currency basis, depot revenue in Continental Europe increased 21.8% and by 24.2% on a same depot basis, compared to the equivalent periods last year.

UK supermarket chain Sainsbury's warned of lower profits this fiscal year as the cost-of-living crisis and inflation hit the economy.

Sainsbury's forecast underlying full-year pre-tax profits of £630.0m-690.0m, down from the £730.0m profit it delivered last year, which was driven primarily by grocery and fuel sales.

Newspaper round-up

The private company behind the Passport Office’s contact centre has been ordered to hire more staff to ease "unacceptable" delays. Teleperformance, the French-owned multinational that is responsible for call handling, has been “urgently tasked to add additional staff” by the Home Office, which is trying to avert a summer of chaos. - The Times

The UK government is set to announce a fourth delay to physical checks on fresh food imported from the EU amid industry reports that neither technology nor infrastructure resources were ready for the July start of the next phase of Brexit. The Brexit opportunities minister, Jacob Rees-Mogg, is expected to frame the move as use of the UK's newfound independent powers to control the trade border since the departure from the EU and the single market. - Guardian

Elon Musk has lost a legal bid to get rid of his "Twitter Sitter", a Tesla lawyer who is in charge of overseeing comments the billionaire wishes to post on social media about his electric car company. Last month, the Tesla chief asked a US judge to end his 2018 deal with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, which included scrutiny of his tweets, claiming it violates his right to free speech. - Telegraph

The Serious Fraud Office has intensified its inquiry into the business empire of metals magnate Sanjeev Gupta after its investigators raided sites across his GFG Alliance to obtain documents. The co-ordinated and unannounced operation yesterday involved GFG trading sites in England, Scotland and Wales. Investigators used Section 2 notices to demand the immediate provision of documents including "company balance sheets, annual reports and correspondence" related to the investigation, the fraud office said. - The Times

Rishi Sunak has opened the door to a windfall tax on oil and gas companies despite previously dismissing the policy, as Labour accused the government of burying its head in the sand over spiralling bills. The chancellor hinted at a possible U-turn on a tax on oil and gas providers, having repeatedly refused to countenance the idea in the past when suggested by Labour and the Liberal Democrats. - Guardian

US close

Wall Street stocks turned in a mixed performance on Wednesday, with the Dow clawing back some of the losses it recorded in Tuesday's tech-led sell-off.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.19% at 33,301.93, while the S&P 500 added 0.21% to 4,183.96 and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.01% to 12,488.93.