Good morning! We have a backlog section from Mark to kick us off today. And the Agenda is now complete.
1pm: all done for now, have a great weekend!
Edit to add: The Week Ahead has now been published with the economic calendar and next week's company announcements - see here.
Companies Reporting
| Name (Mkt Cap) | RNS | Summary | Our view (Author) |
|---|---|---|---|
J D Wetherspoon (LON:JDW) (£681m) | Interim Results | H1 adj. PBT -8.6% to £33m. Wage costs to increase £60m. Outlook: “reasonable” outcome for FY25. | AMBER (Megan) However much I like Wetherspoons as a consumer and as a listed business, I am concerned that the challenges in the UK’s pub industry will continue to weigh on the performance for some time. |
| Asos (LON:ASC) (£304m) | Trading Update | SP +20% Expects significant improvement in profitability in H1. Stronger gross margin, lower markdown activity, cost discipline. H1 revenue inline, adj. EBITDA ahead of consensus (£34m). | AMBER/RED (Graham) [no section below] I'm going to leave this with a moderately negative view although I do very much approve of the company's strategy to focus on full-price sales and margins over empty revenues. However, at the top of my mind is the net debt position. This was last seen in region of £170m, excluding lease liabilities, after the sale of the Topman and Topshop brands last September. A moderately negative stance therefore seems to remain justified on the basis that this is A) a value trap according to the StockRanks, and B) is likely to still carry substantial debts. Hopefully it can turn into a true turnaround story but I'm not convinced that it's there yet. |
Ceres Power Holdings (LON:CWR) (£139m) | Final Results | Rev +132% (£52m). Adj. EBITDA loss £22m. Outlook: 2025 revenue broadly similar to 2024. | AMBER/RED (Graham) It's an exciting year for the company and I wish it well, but the financials as they stand do not yet inspire confidence. At least they appear to be moving in the right direction. |
National World (LON:NWOR) (£60m) | Final Results | Rev +9%, adj. PBT +16% (£11.1m). Guidance: to meet expectations. | PINK (takeover to be effective by 30th April if there is no further delay). |
Volvere (LON:VLE) (£40m) | Trading Update | NAV ps £17.19 (LY: £14.83). Net income £4.8m (LY: £2.7m). 2025: challenging due to labour costs. | AMBER/GREEN (Graham holds) |
