Unilever reports better-than-expected sales, Rentokil performs 'very well' in third quarter

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The FTSE 100 is expected to open 17 points lower on Thursday, having closed down 1.91% on Wednesday, at 5,776.50.

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Consumer goods giant Unilever on Thursday reported a better-than-expected 4.4% rise in third quarter sales as people continued to buy more hygiene and food products. It added that turnover fell 2.4% to €12.9bn after a 7.7% hit from currency changes. “Underlying sales growth accelerated compared to the second quarter. Elevated levels of growth for hand and home hygiene products continued, as well as for food consumed at home. Our food service and out of home ice cream businesses continued to decline, however at lower levels compared to the second quarter,” Unilever said in a trading statement.

Rentokil Initial said it performed “very well” in the third quarter, growing group ongoing revenue by 9.8%, reflecting “exceptional” growth in its hygiene division from continued high demand for disinfection services, and a return to growth in pest control. The FTSE 100 company said ongoing revenue in pest control was ahead 1.3% in the quarter, swinging from a decline of 5.9% in the second quarter, while hygiene grew by 53.3%, compared to 16.3%. Excluding revenue from disinfection, Rentokil said its core hygiene operations delivered a significant improvement on the prior quarter, declining by 1% versus a decline of 19.7% in the second quarter.

Newspaper round-up

Rishi Sunak is expected to announce his fourth package of support for business in as many months amid mounting pressure on the government to help hard-hit companies in lockdown-affected regions. Trades unions and the UK’s five big employers’ organisations have been summoned to the Treasury on Thursday morning to hear details of the chancellor’s plans before he makes a statement to MPs. - Guardian

Official figures have laid bare the huge financial divide in the UK caused by the coronavirus crisis, with one in three households experiencing income cuts, and young adults and black, Asian and minority ethnic people worst hit. In a grim overview of the nation’s personal finances, the Financial Conduct Authority said 12 million adults were struggling to pay their bills, up by 2 million since coronavirus struck in February. - Guardian

The Welsh government is poised to nationalise its railways after bailout talks with the current operator were unable to agree a privately-led deal and Covid continued to hammer public transport. Ministers are expected to formally announce the transfer of operations to state-owned Transport for Wales on Thursday morning, insiders said. - Telegraph

Tesla said last night that it intended to meet an ambitious target to deliver half a million cars this year as it announced its fifth consecutive quarterly profit. However, the electric carmaker warned that achieving its delivery goal had become “more difficult” after its main factory in California was shut down temporarily in the early weeks of the pandemic. - The Times

The new owners of Asda are looking for a chairman and independent directors for their petrol station empire to soothe corporate governance concerns as they gear up for a £10 billion stock market listing next year. EG Group, which is owned by the billionaire Issa brothers and TDR Capital, the private equity firm, who teamed up for a £6.8 billion takeover of Asda last month, told investors last week that there had been a delay in expanding their board as they were weighing the impact of “large-scale acquisitions and future listing options”. - The Times

US close

Wall Street stocks closed in negative territory on Wednesday, as investors kept an eye on progress with regards to coronavirus stimulus talks.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.35% at 28,210.82, the S&P 500 lost 0.22% to 3,435.56, and the Nasdaq Composite was off 0.28% at 11,484.69.

The Dow Jones closed 97.97 points weaker on Wednesday, reversing gains recorded earlier in the session, as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said her and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin were making progress in their ongoing stimulus talks.

Meadows said that both the House Speaker and Treasury Secretary would talk again on Wednesday, adding that he hoped the pair would be able to reach "some kind of agreement before the weekend".

Pelosi said on Tuesday that she was "optimistic" about the potential of the two striking an aid deal.