British American Tobacco flags decent profit growth, Britvic books 24pc fall in annual profit

London open

The FTSE 100 is expected to open 19 points higher on Wednesday, having closed up 0.09% at 7,403.14 on Tuesday.

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British American Tobacco (BAT) said it expected full year adjusted operating profit and revenue growth to be in the upper half of its long term guidance range driven by strong results in the US. The company added on Wednesday that annual new category constant currency revenue growth would be at the lower end of its 30% - 50% range, reflecting the recent slowdown in the US vapour market.

Hikma Pharmaceuticals has submitted its response to deficiencies in its abbreviated new drug application for a generic version of GlaxoSmithKline's ‘Advair Diskus’, or fluticasone propionate and salmeterol inhalation powder, to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), it announced on Wednesday. The FTSE 100 firm said that, following receipt of a complete response letter from the FDA, it initiated a clinical endpoint study in 2018. That study had been completed and it, along with other information requested by the FDA, was submitted to the FDA for review, addressing the outstanding questions raised by the FDA in its letter.

Britvic booked a 24% reduction in annual profit before tax to £110.3m as higher administration expenses and cost of sales outweighed the impact of a 3% increase in revenue to £1.55bn. The soft drinks producer warned that conditions will remain challenging but said it remained confident of making further progress in 2020 due to its geographical presence, strong portfolio of brands and team of committed and passionate employees.

Newspaper round-up

The British car industry has delivered a bleak warning over the danger of a no-deal Brexit, saying it would devastate UK motor manufacturing at a cost of more than £40bn in lost production by 2024. About 1.5m fewer cars would be produced by British factories in the next five years, manufacturers warned, should the industry fall back on World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules – whether in a direct no-deal Brexit or at the end of the transition period in Boris Johnson’s withdrawal deal. – Guardian

Ikea’s parent company is to invest an additional €200m (£171m) in green energy and forest planting as part of a plan by the world’s largest furniture retailer to become carbon neutral by 2030. The investment is being made by Inter Ikea Group, the owner of the Ikea brand which is operated by a string of franchise businesses, the largest of which is Ingka Group. – Guardian

Politicians and campaigners have urged Jeff Fairburn to reveal whether he has donated a portion of his controversial £75m bonus, as it appears no charity has been set up in the former Persimmon boss's name. A year after Mr Fairburn was forced to step down from his role, the Charity Commission says it does not have any record of a trust bearing Mr Fairburn's name. Neither does it appear that the ex-housebuilding chief executive is a trustee of any charity in England or Wales. – Telegraph

A former senior executive at Barclays has told a court he was surprised by the level of fees demanded by Qatar in return for providing crucial financial support to the British bank in 2008. Roger Jenkins, former chairman of investment banking in the Middle East and north Africa, said he had been “a little taken aback” at the price requested by the senior Qatari negotiator. – The Times

The chief executive of Australia’s second biggest bank has resigned over a money-laundering scandal linked to apparent child exploitation. Brian Hartzer, the New Yorker who has led Westpac for four years, announced his departure in an email to 40,000 staff, saying that he wanted to lead the response to the scandal but accepted the judgment of the board that new leadership was essential. – The Times

US close

US stocks finished in positive territory on Tuesday, following further conversations between officials in Washington and Beijing.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the session up 0.2% at 28,121.68, the S&P 500 added 0.22% to 3,140.52, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.18% firmer at 8,647.93.

At the open, the Dow was 27.31 points higher after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both hit record highs during the previous session.

China's Ministry of Commerce claimed overnight that vice-premier Liu He spoke with United States trade representative Robert Lighthizer and US Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin over the phone on Tuesday morning, to discuss resolving several "core issues".

"Both sides discussed resolving core issues of common concern, reached consensus on how to resolve related problems [and] agreed to stay in contact over remaining issues for a phase one agreement," a statement read.

However, it was still not clear as to whether or not both sides would be able to reach a compromise before new US tariffs on Chinese goods were due to come into effect on 15 December.