Halma H1 trading in line with expectations, Mitchells & Butlers reiterates FY guidance
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Thursday 25 Sep 2025
(Sharecast News) - LONDON PRE-OPEN
The FTSE 100 was expected to open 11.4 points lower ahead of the bell on Thursday after wrapping up the previous session 0.29% higher at 9,250.43.
STOCKS TO WATCH
Safety equipment group Halma said on Thursday that year-to-date trading has remained in line with expectations, leading the group to reiterate full-year guidance despite mixed regional performance and ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty. The FTSE 100 firm continues to expect "good organic constant currency revenue growth" for the year ending 31 March 2026, with adjusted pre-tax profits also set to be in line with market forecasts. Revenue growth was strongest in the US, supported by robust demand across its Safety and Environmental & Analysis sectors. However, trading in mainland Europe was described as "more challenging", while the UK and Asia Pacific delivered modest growth.
Pub group Mitchells & Butlers held annual guidance on the back of a 4.2% year-to-date rise in like-for-like sales, despite weaker trade within Greater London and its premium businesses. The Harvester and Toby Carvery owner forecast higher overall cost inflation next fiscal year of around £130m, or 6% of its cost base, but expected to outperform the sector via cost efficiencies.
NEWSPAPER ROUND-UP
The UK boss of the US drugmaker Moderna, which shot to prominence with its Covid vaccine during the pandemic, has defended the country after it was labelled the "worst in Europe" for drug pricing. Darius Hughes spoke as he opened a £150m vaccine site in Oxfordshire, just days after MSD, AstraZeneca and Eli Lilly announced that they would ditch or pause planned UK investments amid a row over pricing between the pharmaceutical industry and the government. - Guardian
Ed Miliband is planning to encourage drilling in the North Sea despite a manifesto promise not to grant new licences on new parts of the British sea bed. The energy secretary is looking at ways in which the government can allow companies to look for and produce more oil and gas without breaking Labour's pre-election pledge not to issue new licences on new fields. - Guardian
Ryanair has been accused of ignoring elderly passengers after confirming plans to scrap paper boarding passes. A Ryanair shake-up, due to take effect in November, will result in 40m Ryanair customers who use paper tickets being forced to carry passes on a smartphone, which campaigners said will make travelling harder for older passengers. - Telegraph
Animal rights activists have been accused of driving up chicken prices by attempting to block new poultry farms across Britain. Plans to build a chicken factory in Lincolnshire have been targeted by a barrage of complaints, in the latest example of a coordinated campaign to halt new poultry projects. - Telegraph
The boss of BT and other big business leaders have warned the government that high taxes and excessive red tape risk deterring investment in Britain. Allison Kirkby, chief executive of BT, claimed that the FTSE 100 telecommunications group paid "ten times" more than peers in other major European economies in "government-inflicted costs", before what she said would be a "very difficult" budget in November. - The Times
Britain's biggest carmaker is said to have been uninsured for the disastrous cyberattack that has shut down its production and is raising fears of insolvency in the supply chain as hundreds of companies begin laying off workers. Jaguar Land Rover had not finalised a cyber-insurance deal that was being brokered before the incident, leaving it "uninsured directly" for the attack, an insurance journal reported. - The Times
US CLOSE
Wall Street stocks fell for a second day on Wednesday as indices continued to retreat from recent records amid mounting concerns about a potential government shutdown and elevated valuations.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.37% at 46,121.28, while the S&P 500 shed 0.28% to 6,637.97 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.33% softer at 22,497.86.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
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