16th Sep 2025 07:49
(Alliance News) - Unilever made its acting finance chief permanent, Anglo American finalised a copper deal with Codelco and Kier Group says it is trading ahead of expectations.
Here is what you need to know before the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: called 0.1% at 9,282.33
GBP: higher at USD1.3629 (USD1.3597 at previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS
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The UK unemployment rate was unmoved in July, as expected, numbers on Tuesday showed. According to the Office for National Statistics, the nation's jobless rate was steady at 4.7% in the three months to July, where it stood for the three months to June. The reading was in line with consensus cited by FXStreet. The ONS said an estimate showed payrolled employees declined by 142,000 on-year in July and by 6,000 on-month. "The early estimate of payrolled employees for August 2025 decreased by 127,000 (0.4%) on the year, and by 8,000 (0.0%) on the month, to 30.3 million," the ONS added.
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BROKER RATINGS
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JPMorgan cuts easyJet to 'neutral' (overweight) - price target 500 (670) pence
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Unilever has made its acting chief financial officer permanent after a "thorough internal and external search process". The consumer goods firm says the appointment of Srinivas Phatak as permanent CFO is effective immediately. In February, Unilever announced Chief Executive Officer Hein Schumacher would step down, with CFO at the time Fernando Fernandez replacing him. Phatak, who was deputy CFO, became acting CFO. CEO Fernandez says: "Srinivas has been a great partner over the last six months as acting CFO and over many years as part of the Unilever leadership team. He brings financial rigour, strategic clarity, and a sharp eye for value creation. His leadership and constructive challenge will be very valuable in driving consistent volume growth, margin expansion, and advancing our growth story. I'm confident that, together with the team, we can build a scalable marketing and sales engine that delivers executional excellence across all channels."
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Anglo American says it has finalised a copper tie-up with Chile's state-owned Codelco. The duo will implement a joint mine plan for their adjacent copper operations, Los Bronces and Andina. Anglo American says the deal has been struck trhough its 50%-owned unit Anglo American Sur. "The joint mine plan has been developed to unlock an additional 2.7 million tonnes of copper production over a 21-year period once relevant permits are in place, currently expected in 2030," Anglo American adds. "The transaction is expected to generate a pre-tax net present value uplift of at least USD5 billion, to be shared equally between AAS and Codelco."
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Kier Group reports an increase in annual profit and says it is trading above expectations in the early stages of its new year. The infrastructure firm says its pretax profit in the year to June 30 rose 15% to GBP78.1 million from GBP68.1 million. Revenue improved 3.0% to GBP4.09 billion from GBP3.97 billion. "In the first year of our long-term sustainable growth plan the group delivered strongly, with profit performance, in particular, ahead of our initial expectations," CEO Andrew Davies says. Kier lifts its final dividend to 5.2 pence per share from 3.5p. Its total dividend is 38% higher at 7.2p per share from 5.2p. The CEO adds: "Building on our outperformance in FY25, the group has started the current financial year well and for FY26 is trading slightly ahead of the board's expectations."
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Harworth Group reports it is seeing "sustained demand for our residential serviced land" but warns tough market conditions may persist. The regenerator of land says its net asset value per share rose to 215.5 pence at the June 30 half-year end, edging up 0.8% from 213.7p at the end 2024. "We are seeing sustained demand for our residential serviced land, although costs to deliver increased in some instances impacting valuations and the market seems to be softer, an outlook we consider may continue to 2026, particularly with uncertainty around the UK Budget and the timing of further rate cuts," CEO Lynda Shillaw says. Harworth lifts its interim dividend by 10% to 0.538p from 0.489p.
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OTHER COMPANIES
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MJ Gleeson says its annual profit declined, as it reports "factors which stalled our momentum". The construction firm says pretax profit in the year to June 30 declined 17% to GBP20.5 million from GBP24.8 million a year prior. Revenue improved 5.9% to GBP365.8 million from GBP345.3 million. CEO Graham Prothero says: "This year has been challenging for Gleeson, and despite selling more homes relative to FY2024, there have been factors which stalled our momentum. We have taken the actions necessary to benefit the business through FY2026 and ensure the delivery of our strategic objectives." For the new year, it currently expects an outcome in line with expectations. It puts pretax profit consensus at GBP24.3 million. MJ Gleeson's total dividend per share is unchanged at 11.0p.
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By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor
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Related Shares:
easyJetUnileverAnglo AmericanKierHarworth GpMJGleeson