JD Sports H1 pre-tax profits fall, PZ Cussons Q1 LFL sales rise

London pre-open

The FTSE 100 was being called to open 57.3 points lower ahead of the bell on Thursday after closing 0.63% higher in the previous session at 7,237.64.

Stocks to watch

Sportswear retailer JD Sports saw pre-tax profits fall in the six months ended 30 July despite delivering improved interim revenues.

JD Sports said on Thursday that interim pre-tax profits had dropped from £364.6m to £298.3m, even as revenues rose from £3.88bn to £4.41bn in the half, amid an increase in total gross capital expenditure from £83.5m in H1 2021 to £156.6m twelve months later.

Consumer goods giant PZ Cussons said on Thursday that first-quarter like-for-like sales rose 6.7% on the back of higher prices as it also reported a fall in annual profits due to lower revenues and brand impairment.

The maker of Imperial Leather soap, said pre-tax profits fell 8.7% to £65.3m, while revenues dropped 1.7% to £592.8m.

Safety equipment company Halma said on Thursday that it has made "good progress" in the first half of its trading year despite the ongoing "challenging" operational environment.

Halma stated that it had continued to see "strong demand" for its products and services in the six months ending 30 September, with order intake "strongly ahead" go the prior year. Halma added that its full-year revenue guidance and return on sales expectations were unchanged.

Newspaper round-up

Britain's mounting debts will be unsustainable if the government presses ahead with sweeping tax cuts in a mini-budget on Friday, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies thinktank. Fuelling concerns that the UK's precarious financial position will spark a run on the pound, the chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, is expected to reverse an increase in national insurance payments and cut corporation tax at a cost to the Treasury of £30.0bn. – Guardian

Almost 400,000 workers in the UK whose employers are signed up to paying the real living wage are in line for a record pay rise, as the charity that sets the rate approved an increase to £10.90 an hour for outside London. The Living Wage Foundation said it was launching the annual increase two months earlier than planned and had recommended its biggest single rise yet in recognition of the intense pressure on households from rocketing energy prices and the highest inflation rate in 40 years. – Guardian

The co-founder of collapsed energy supplier Bulb is planning to start a new company after landing a job at a venture capital fund backed by the former foreign secretary David Miliband. Hayden Wood has been appointed as venture partner at Giant VC, where he will be tasked with finding European start-ups to invest in. – Telegraph

The first Chinese car brand will be sold in Britain within months after a leading UK dealer revealed it is in the final stages of a deal with the country's biggest electric vehicle maker. Pendragon said it expects to begin selling cars from BYD, which is based in Guangdong Province, before the end of the year. – Telegraph

Employees of the semiconductor firm Newport Wafer Fab, whose controversial takeover by a Chinese-backed business is under review by the government on national security grounds, have weighed into the row over its future. In a strongly worded letter to The Times, the staff association, which says it represents the 582 employees, said they "fully support Nexperia and its ownership of our site" because it has provided stability, improved job security, wages and working conditions. – The Times

The head of Co-op Food is to leave the retailer after five years, while the boss of its wholesale business Nisa will also stand down. Jo Whitfield will step down from her role to "pursue her next challenge" after leading a reinvention of its food business, the retailer said yesterday. – The Times

US close

Wall Street stocks turned negative by the close on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve locked in another 75-basis point rate hike and signalled more was set to come.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.7% at 30,183.78, while the S&P 500 lost 1.71% to 3,789.93 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.79% weaker at 11,220.19.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com