Unilever maintains quarterly dividend, Croda to still pay final distribution
London open
The FTSE 100 is expected to open 11 points higher on Thursday, having closed up 1.3% at 5,770.63 on Wednesday.
Stocks to watch
Unilever maintained its quarterly dividend but pulled full year guidance as first quarter sales came in flat and the coronavirus pandemic hit its food service and ice-cream business. Underlying sales were flat with volume growth of 0.2% and turnover up 0.2% to €12.4bn (£10.86bn) including a positive impact of 0.6% from acquisitions net of disposals and negative impact of 0.4% from currency. The quarterly dividend was maintained at 41.04 cents a share.
Meggitt said on Thursday that, while trading in its first quarter was ahead of the same period last year, the last few weeks had seen a “softening” in its civil aerospace business, both in terms of revenue and the forward order book. The FTSE 100 company said group revenue was up 5% on an organic basis in the first quarter, with strong growth in defence more than offsetting a softer performance in civil aerospace and energy. It did, however, warn that the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic would result in a significant reduction in demand across its civil aerospace business, adding that the measures it was taking would reduce its cash expenditure levels by around £400m for 2020.
Croda said it would pay its £65m final dividend as it reported solid trading during the Covid-19 crisis. The chemicals company said it was financially strong enough to pay the 50.5p a share dividend subject to approval at Thursday's annual general meeting. Croda said first-quarter trading was as expected and that current demand for its products was solid.
Newspaper round-up
More than 100 nightclubs, pubs and bars are planning coordinated legal action against the insurer Hiscox over its non-payment of business interruption insurance claims. Hiscox sold policies before coronavirus hit the headlines, stating it would pay out when a business was forced to shut owing to a notifiable disease. Business owners have filed claims to Hiscox and other commercial insurers only to be told their business interruption policies do not cover the pandemic. – Guardian
Cath Kidston has agreed to hand over three weeks of back pay owed to staff after outcry over the treatment of more than 900 workers left struggling for cash by being made redundant less than a week before pay day. Just over 900 people who were made redundant on Tuesday, with immediate effect, were told they would not be paid more than three weeks of salary due on Friday. An email to staff made clear they would also not receive any holiday pay, redundancy pay or compensatory notice settlement because of “the company’s current financial position”. – Guardian
More than half of drinkers, diners and gym-goers are reluctant to return to normal life after the lockdown - fuelling fears of a lengthy economic downturn as scared consumers refuse to spend. Britons feel most uncomfortable about visiting pubs and bars when restrictions imposed to control the coronavirus are loosened, according to pollster YouGov. Some 63pc said they would be uncomfortable returning to bars while around six in 10 are reluctant to revisit cafes, restaurants and gyms, its survey revealed. – Telegraph
A key backer of Virgin Atlantic has ruled out injecting fresh cash into the crisis-hit airline as it continues to beg ministers for a bailout. US carrier Delta - which owns 49pc of the British firm - said it is concentrating on its own problems after operations were hammered by the coronavirus pandemic. Boss Ed Bastian warned Delta is facing a “crisis in cash”, adding it is barred from investing in foreign businesses under the terms of a rescue by the American authorities. – Telegraph
A third of British households believe that they will need financial support from the state in the next three months as concerns grow about job security and the economy. Eighty-four per cent of people believe that the government should do all it can, whatever the cost, to prop up jobs and businesses through the pandemic, Kantar, a research consultancy, found. – The Times
US close
US stocks closed higher on Wednesday, as oil prices staged a turnaround after the historic drop seen over the last two sessions.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the session up 1.99% at 23,475.82, the S&P 500 added 2.29% to 2,799.31, and the Nasdaq Composite was 2.81% firmer at 8,495.38.
At the open, the Dow had added 366.80 points after closing sharply lower in the previous session, as the week's historic oil sell-off continued to pick up steam.
Oil volatility was still front and centre for traders throughout the session, with plummeting prices seeing Brent crude hit its lowest intraday price since 2001.
However, West Texas Intermediate surged more than 26% at the open, with Brent crude ahead more than 11% as US traders logged in.
Prices held onto those gains by the end of the day, with Brent crude last up 7.87% at $20.98 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate rising 18.35% to $14.17.