Serco appoints North American CEO, Smiths delivers strong FY results
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Tuesday 23 Sep 2025
(Sharecast News) - LONDON PRE-OPEN
The FTSE 100 was expected to open 16.5 points higher ahead of the bell on Tuesday after wrapping up the previous session 0.11% firmer at 9,226.68.
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Government contractor Serco said on Tuesday that it had appointed Michael LaRouche as chief executive of its North American division. LaRouche was business president at Science Applications International Corporation, having previously held leadership positions at Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, Serco said in a statement.
Engineering firm Smiths Group delivered strong annual results on Tuesday, with organic growth coming in ahead of twice-raised guidance and profits up by double digits. Organic group revenues were up 8.9% over the 12 months ended 31 July, well ahead of the most recent target of 6-8% growth, while organic operating profits improved by 13.1%. However, the company pointed to a slight slowdown over the current financial year, guiding to organic revenue growth of 4-6%, citing ongoing macro uncertainty "with tariffs and increased geo-political risks causing market instability".
Vehicle rental firm Zigup on Tuesday held annual guidance on Tuesday and said it had performed well over the first four months of the current financial year, with vehicles on hire numbers ahead of 2024.
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Nvidia, the chipmaking company, will invest up to $100bn in OpenAI and provide it with data centre chips, the companies said on Monday, a tie-up between two of the highest-profile leaders in the global artificial intelligence race. The deal, which will see Nvidia start delivering chips as soon as late 2026, will involve two separate but intertwined transactions, according to a person close to OpenAI. The startup will pay Nvidia in cash for chips, and Nvidia will invest in OpenAI for non-controlling shares, the person said. - Guardian
Rachel Reeves has been urged to take 2p off the rate of employee national insurance and add it to income tax in her autumn budget, to raise billions of pounds while protecting workers' pay packets. Putting forward plans to raise up to £30bn, the influential Resolution Foundation thinktank called on the chancellor to "level the playing field" on how different forms of income are taxed. - Guardian
Pat McFadden, Labour's new welfare chief, has said that his first priority will be to get as many idle young people back into work as possible. In his words, the problem is that large numbers have simply fallen "out of the habit" of employment. "The big danger is if young people get out of the habit and the pattern of work as they're leaving school, then it might be hard to get them back in the future," the Work and Pensions Secretary said last week. - Telegraph
Sir Sadiq Khan has used Gatwick expansion to renew his attack on plans for a third runway at Heathrow. The Mayor of London has suggested that the second Gatwick runway, approved by the Government on Sunday, makes Heathrow's £50bn proposed extension unnecessary. - Telegraph
A federal judge has granted a request by Orsted to restart work on the Danish offshore wind developer's almost-completed Revolution Wind project off Rhode Island, which President Trump halted last month. At the end of a two-hour court hearing in Washington, District Judge Royce Lamberth issued a preliminary injunction, which blocked the Trump administration from enforcing an order it issued in August to stop construction of the project located off the northeast coast of the US. - The Times
US CLOSE
Major indices closed higher on Monday as market as the looming risk of a possible government shutdown was offset by news of Nvidia's partnership with OpenAI.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.14% at 46,381.54, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.44% to 6,693.75 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.70% firmer at 22,788.98.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
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