1st Jul 2026 07:59
(Alliance News) - AB Foods says its still expects lower annual profit, CMC Markets raises its annual guidance while Topps Tiles reports lower revenue and a hit to demand from recent hot weather.
Here is what you need to know before the London market open on Wednesday.
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: called down 0.2% at 10,474.32
GBP: lower at USD1.3242 (USD1.3263 at previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS
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Annual house price growth ticked higher in June, though prices were flat on-month, according to data from Nationwide. The Nationwide house price index showed annual house price growth picked up to 2.2% in June from 1.7% in May. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, house prices were broadly flat, after a 0.6% fall in May. The average UK house price, not seasonally adjusted, stood at GBP277,484 in June compared to GBP278,024 in May. Nationwide Chief Economist Robert Gardner said: "It is not surprising that the market has softened a little in recent months, given the uncertainty caused by developments in the Middle East and the subsequent rise in energy prices and market interest rates. Indeed, consumer confidence and measures of housing sentiment have weakened, and mortgage approvals fell noticeably in May."
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BROKER RATINGS
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Exane BNP reinitiates Segro with 'neutral'
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Associated British Foods says it delivered a "resilient" trading performance in its third quarter. The London-based food, ingredients and retail group says group revenue rises 3% to GBP5.30 billion in the third quarter, and is in line in constant currency. Retail revenue rises 4% to GBP2.92 billion and Grocery revenue grows 5% to GBP1.04 billion. Ingredients revenue is up 7% at GBP543 million and Sugar revenue increases 4% to GBP451 million. Agriculture revenue falls 13% to GBP347 million. Primark like-for-like sales were down 2.2% in the third quarter and are 2.5% lower in the year-to-date. Chief Executive George Weston says: "While the retail environment remained challenging in most markets, Primark continued to strengthen its customer proposition, including new product launches, a sharper focus on price and increased investment in marketing, particularly digital. We are making good progress and there is more to come. Grocery and Ingredients delivered solid results. In Sugar, the duration and severity of the Middle East conflict have increased gas price expectations for next year, which has impacted our European profit outlook. Aside from Sugar, our full year outlook for the group is unchanged." The firm continues to expect adjusted operating profit and adjusted earnings per share to be below last year. AB Foods says it remains on track for the previously announced demerger of the Retail business from its Food business to complete before the end of 2027.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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CMC Markets increases its guidance for its 2027 financial year. The London-based trading platform says it momentum has continued to "build and scale" in the new financial year. As a result, it now expects net operating income of at least GBP550 million, ahead of previous guidance of between GBP460 million and GBP480 million. It forecasts earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of GBP250 million. Financial 2027 guidance for operating expenses excluding variable remuneration of around GBP280 million remains unchanged. "The strength of this performance reflects the scale of our [business-to-business] platforms driving operational gearing and delivering higher profit margins as income growth is delivered against a largely fixed cost base," the firm says. "Operational gearing and investing for growth through B2B platforms, products, technology and partnerships continue to drive profit margins higher," it adds.
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Greggs says Chief Financial Officer Richard Hutton will step down after 28 years with the firm, including 20 on the board. The Newcastle-upon-Tyne-based bakery chain appoints Ben Waldron as CFO and executive director. He will join on October 27 as CFO-designate and as a director. He will take on the CFO role from the start of 2027, while Hutton will leave at the end of 2026. Incoming CFO Waldron previously worked for fresh prepared food business Bakkavor, as CFO and earlier group strategy director. "On behalf of the board, I look forward to welcoming Ben to Greggs as chief financial officer. He will join the business at an exciting stage in its continued development. His strong financial and commercial expertise, together with his experience in senior operational leadership roles within an international food manufacturing business, will be an invaluable asset to Greggs," says Greggs Chair Matt Davies.
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OTHER COMPANIES
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Topps Tiles cuts its guidance as it reports lower third quarter revenue due to "challenging market conditions". The Leicestershire, England-based tile retailer says revenue, including CTD, for the third quarter was GBP75.6 million, down 1.8% on-year. It says this was due to tough market conditions as well as the effect of prior year store closures in CTD and the previously announced closure of underperforming Topps Tiles stores. Revenue, excluding CTD, rises 0.6% to GBP69.4 million. Third quarter revenue is flat on a like-for-like basis, worsening in the second half of the quarter compared to the first half. "Since the interim update, we have seen some margin pressure as ongoing uncertainty in the macroeconomic environment has led to a current greater demand for lower priced products," Topps Tiles says. "In addition, recent periods of extreme heatwave conditions led to temporary work stoppages among housebuilders and traders, further affecting activity levels. Whilst there is likely to be a catch up over a six-month period, this is unlikely to come back fully in our financial year which ends in September," it adds. Topps Tiles now expects adjusted pretax profit to be above GBP6.5 million, down from GBP9.2 million in the previous year. Topps Tiles previously said it expects "modest" on-year profit growth.
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Supreme reports a "record year" for revenue and adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation. The Manchester, England-based consumer products distributor says revenue jumps 17% to GBP270.2 million in the financial year to the end of March from GBP231.1 million a year prior. Pretax profit falls 14% to GBP26.7 million from GBP30.9 million. However, adjusted Ebitda edges up to GBP40.6 million from GBP40.5 million. Supreme says it makes a positive start to financial 2027, helped by "solid customer traction". "I am delighted to report a record-breaking performance for Supreme. Our portfolio has doubled over the past couple of years, fuelled by a combination of brand led acquisitions alongside organic expansion of our product offering," says Chief Executive Officer Sandy Chadha. Supreme says a final dividend of 3.8p per share will be proposed at the annual general meeting on September 17, taking the total dividend to 5.4p, up from 5.2p a year ago.
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By Michael Hennessey, Alliance News reporter
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Related Shares:
SegroAB FoodsCMC MarketsGreggsTopps TilesSupreme Plc