Oxford Biomedica swings to profit, Halma makes strong progress

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The FTSE 100 is expected to open 59 points higher on Wednesday, having closed up 1.12% at 6,980.98 on Tuesday.

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Covid-19 vaccine producer Oxford Biomedica swung to a profit in the half year on the back of a surge in revenues through its partnership deal with AstraZeneca. The company on Wednesday said operating core earnings rose to £27.1m from a £0.4m loss. Revenue increased by 139% to £81.3 m. On a pre-tax basis profit for the six months to June 30 amounted to £19.2.m, compared to year-on-year losses of £6.1m.

Halma said on Wednesday that it had made “strong progress” in the first half of its financial year, with its financial performance ahead of the board's expectations, as revenue growth and return on sales exceeded both expectations and historic levels. The FTSE 100 safety products company said order intake was ahead of both revenue this year and of order intake for the same period last year. It said it expected to report strong organic constant currency revenue and profit growth for the first half, and “more typical” rates of revenue growth and return on sales in the second half.

Newspaper round-up

Ministers are considering ways to cut energy bills for the poorest households amid soaring gas prices as analysis suggests a typical low-income UK family will be £1,750 worse off by next April. On Tuesday Boris Johnson brushed away worries about a wider cost of living squeeze and shortages this winter, saying “Christmas is on”. But government sources said there were concerns, with discussions already under way about whether to extend or raise existing discounts on energy bills available to those on the lowest incomes, with prices set to rise by an average of 12-13% – or £139 a year – from October. - Guardian

Pret A Manger shareholders, including its co-founder, Sinclair Beecham, are pumping £100m into the company to fund expansion despite losses ballooning to £256m during the pandemic. The coffee shop group is planning to open more than 200 UK and Irish stores over the next two years, expanding into the London suburbs, regional cities, retail parks and, through franchise deals, into travel locations such as railway stations and motorway services. - Guardian

Several small UK energy suppliers have stopped accepting new customers in a sign that Britain's energy crisis is deepening. Igloo, Green and Ampower are all closed to new business, according to notices on the companies’ websites. Several energy suppliers have gone out of business already this year as gas and power prices surged to record highs. - Telegraph

BT is in talks to sell its sports broadcasting wing to a streaming service owned by billionaire Sir Leonard Blavatnik. The telecoms giant could strike a deal with DAZN within weeks, drawing a line under a costly foray into pay-television, according to the Financial Times. - The Times

The founder of the Chinese property conglomerate burdened with $300 billion in debt has vowed to lead the company out of its darkest moment as it teeters on the edge of collapse and threatens to send shockwaves through the country’s property and banking sectors. Hui Ka Yan has written a letter to his employees in response to the crisis. Evergrande, one of the country’s biggest companies, is faced with imminent deadlines to repay debts after it borrowed heavily to finance its rapid expansion. Analysts at S&P Global, the credit ratings agency, expect that a “default is likely” from Evergrande later this week, when it is due to make interest repayments on some of its loans. - The Times

US close

Major indices put on a mixed performance on Tuesday as Wall Street's attempt at rebounding from yesterday's heavy sell-off fell short.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.15% at 33,919.84 and the S&P 500 0.08% softer at 4,354.19, while the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.22% stronger at 14,746.40.

The Dow closed 50.63 points lower on Tuesday, extending sharp losses recorded in the previous session.

Stocks turned in a mixed performance on Tuesday after Asian markets remained stable overnight, initially boosting sentiment Stateside following fears that a liquidity crisis at Chinese real estate giant Evergrande could potentially lead to a global contagion, with the firm teetering on the brink of default as it is due to pay $83.0m in interest on Thursday.

Also in focus, the Federal Reserve kicked off its two-day policy meeting on Tuesday, with market participants looking for further information from chairman Jerome Powell regarding the central bank's intentions to taper its bond-buying programme, while traders were also still concerned about the deadline to raise the US debt ceiling and possible tax increases, with Congress returning to Washington from recess in order to likely rush the passing of funding bills as part of an effort to avoid a government shutdown.