13th Aug 2025 07:52
(Alliance News) - Beazley lowered its premium growth outlook, housebuilder Persimmon maintained its completions guidance, while Hill & Smith announced a GBP100 million share buyback. Elsewhere, retailer Shoe Zone lowered its profit view.
Here is what you need to know before the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: called up 0.2% at 9,164.71
GBP: up slightly at USD1.3512 (USD1.3509 at previous London equities close)
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BROKER RATINGS
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JPMorgan cuts Legal & General to 'neutral' (overweight) - price target 275 (290) pence
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Insurer Beazley lowered its premium growth guidance, "reflecting current market conditions", though it posted an increase for the first half. Pretax profit in the first half of 2025 fell 31% to USD502.5 million from USD728.9 million a year prior, though insurance written premiums increased 2.0% to USD3.19 billion from USD3.12 billion. Operating expenses increased 40% to USD224.7 million on-year, hurting the bottom line. "We are very proud of our overall performance. Growth of 2.0% reflects our disciplined approach and is fully aligned with our strategy of prioritising rate adequacy and long-term profitability over short-term income. This commitment to delivering strong profit through the market cycle is demonstrated by our 84.9% undiscounted combined ratio," Chief Executive Officer Adrian Cox said. The undiscounted combined ratio worsened from 80.7% a year earlier. A combined ratio below 100% indicates profit on underwriting, so the lower, the better. Without removing the impact of discounting, the combined ratio worsened to 80.3% from 76.7%. The CEO added: "Our depth of experience in operating within a cyclical environment means we know when to take risk, and when to pull back. This phase is no exception." Looking ahead, Beazley lowered its premium growth guidance to "low-to-mid single digits". It had previously expected a "mid-single digits" rise. It still expects an undiscounted combined ratio in the "mid-80s", compared to 79.0% in 2024.
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Housebuilder Persimmon reported a rise in first half profit and it maintained its completions outlook for the full year. In the six months to June 30, pretax profit edged up 0.3% to GBP146.7 million from GBP146.3 million. Revenue improved 14% to GBP1.50 billion from GBP1.32 billion. "I am pleased that we have continued to grow in the first half of the year despite challenging market conditions and with affordability still an important constraint. Our average sales price, sales, completions, planning approvals, active sites and forward order book are all up, many against industry trends, showing that our strategy including a focus on self-help has continued to deliver. An improvement in operating profit and return on capital demonstrate the benefit of our on-going operational discipline," CEO Dean Finch said. Persimmon maintained its interim dividend at 20 pence per share. New home completions were 3.6% higher on-year at 4,605. It still expects to deliver between 11,000 and 11,500 completions for the full year, "with a housing operating margin of between 14.2% and 14.5%". Completions in 2024 totalled 10,664. It had an underlying operating margin of 14.1% last year. Looking further ahead, it said: "Given our investment and improvement in our key capabilities, we currently expect volume to grow to [around] 12,000 units in 2026 with operating margin progression similar to 2025."
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Infrastructure products provider Hill & Smith reported a rise in half-year earnings, lifted its dividend and announced a new share buyback. Pretax profit in the first half of 2025 rose 9.9% to GBP63.5 million from GBP57.8 million a year prior. Revenue was 2.1% higher at GBP431.6 million from GBP422.7 million. "We have delivered another record performance in the first half, driven by a strong performance in our larger US platform businesses and better profitability in the UK. We also delivered strong free cash flow resulting in minimal leverage which provides us with significant financial firepower. Our second half outlook remains positive, underpinned by continued growth in our US end markets," CEO Rutger Helbing said. Hill & Smith expects full-year underlying operating profit in line with market expectations, which stand at GBP150.4 million, representing a 4.8% rise from GBP143.5 million it achieved in 2024. In the first half of 2025, it rose 7.5% to GBP73.5 million. The firm raised its half-year dividend by 9.1% to 18.0p per share from 16.5p. In addition, it announced a GBP100 million share buyback for the next 18 months. The CEO added: "Our capital allocation priorities are unchanged, and we continue to see attractive opportunities to deploy capital organically, whilst also making good progress with an active M&A pipeline. Having assessed the capital requirements for the group, given the strength of the balance sheet and cash generation we have the capacity to return capital to shareholders, without compromising our ability to deliver on our growth priorities."
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OTHER COMPANIES
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William Hill and 888 owner Evoke reported improved half-year results and maintained its revenue growth guidance for the whole of 2025. Its pretax loss for the first half narrowed on-year to GBP77.7 million from GBP147.0 million, Revenue rose 3.0% to GBP887.8 million from GBP862.0 million. "We are seeing clear evidence of the transformation and operational reset we've undertaken, with the group delivering continued revenue growth, significantly improved profitability and meaningful deleveraging during the first half of the year. The improved financial performance is a result of substantial strategic progress, focusing resources on our core markets and executing a short-term turnaround, while investing in building stronger capabilities to support long-term sustainable and profitable growth," CEO Per Widerstrom said. "Having delivered four consecutive quarters of growth, we are well positioned to drive continued progress, supported by our leading market positions, established brands, outstanding products, and a clear customer proposition." It still expects annual revenue growth of 5% to 9%.
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Shoe Zone said it has suffered "challenging trading conditions" with consumer spend under pressure following last year's UK budget. The retailer now expected adjusted pretax profit for the year to September 27 of around GBP2.5 million, its forecast halved from GBP5.0 million. "We have seen less discretionary spend, with the continued impact of inflation, interest rates and higher savings rates, all of which have decreased footfall, with a resultant reduction in revenue and profit," Shoe Zone added.
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Salter and Beldray homeware brands owner Ultimate Products said its full-year trading was in line with expectations, and explained it is mulling moving its listing to the AIM market. In a trading statement, UP said it achieved revenue of GBP150.1 million in the year to July 31, down 3.4% from GBP155.5 million in financial 2024. The decline reflects "subdued consumer demand for general merchandise". It said consensus was GBP149.2 million for the year just ended and GBP137.7 million for financial 2026. The new year has started "in line with market expectations". In addition, UP revealed that it is reviewing whether a change in the listing venue to AIM from the Main Market currently is in the best interests of shareholders. The probe will consider "factors such as the potential to access new investors at the company's current market capitalisation". UP has a market capitalisation of GBP47.5 million. The stock has shrunk roughly 60% over the past 12 months.
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By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor
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Related Shares:
Ultimate ProductsShoe ZoneEvoke PlcHill & SmithPersimmonBeazleyLegal & General