Good morning! We've reached the end of another tumultuous week in the markets.

The FTSE rose 3% yesterday and is set to open up by another 1% this morning, around the 8000 level.

After the dramatic announcement yesterday of a "90 day pause" on Trump's tariffs, excluding China, today is shaping up to be a quieter day for headlines.

2pm: I've made a clean sweep of today's announcements. Have a relaxing weekend - I think we all deserve it!


Companies Reporting

Name (Mkt Cap)RNSSummaryOur view (Author)

BP (LON:BP.) (£54.9bn)

Trading Statement

Upstream production lower quarter-on-quarter. Gas/low carbon energy: realisations broadly flat. Net debt up $4bn due to working capital build. AMBER (Graham) [no section below]
Sentiment around BP has been poor, especially in comparison with Shell (LON:SHEL), rightly it seems as BP's earnings forecasts have been slipping for some time. Today's guidance for lower production, partly due to divestments, looks to have been priced in already. BP had net debt of $23 billion at the end of 2024 and the $4bn increase in Q1 is expected to reverse. It has an investment-grade, single-A credit rating from all ratings agencies and so it should be reasonably secure. Since it's a resource stock, I take a neutral stance by default.

Niox (LON:NIOX) (£280m)

Response to Rule 2.8 announcement

SP down 20%
No firm offer is made for NIOX. They discontinue their private sale process.

AMBER/GREEN (Graham)
Some pros and cons here. The potential PE buyers have walked away, and the stock is undoubtedly expensive against short-term earnings. At the same time, the company's growth and improving quality up to this point are intriguing.

Helical (LON:HLCL) (£215m)

Trading Update

SP up 5%
Forward sale of a joint venture (City office, 100 New Bridge Street) for £333m. Will distribute 50-100% of net profits to shareholders. Net debt currently £127m.
AMBER/GREEN (Graham) [no section below]
Taking a moderately positive stance here as the entire REIT sector appears undervalued. Helical's most recent interim results showed net tangible assets of £408m (331p) and thanks to disposals, their pro-forma loan-to-value was only 15.9%, "its lowest ever level". The sale announced today is expected to trigger shareholder returns after it completes in April 2026. This stock carries additional risk due to its small size and dependence on the success of a small number of large projects, but I expect that…

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