2nd Sep 2025 07:51
(Alliance News) - London's FTSE 100 is set to open broadly flat on Tuesday, as UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer prepares for his first meeting since Monday's Cabinet shake-up, and gold prices reach a new record high.
In early corporate news, Oxford Nanopore Technologies reports a narrowed interim loss, while Uniphar posts double-digit profit growth.
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 marginally at 9,197.34
GBP: down at USD1.3530 (USD1.3548 at previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS
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EU military spending is set to hit a fresh record of EUR381 billion in 2025, as countries plough more money into warding off Russia, the bloc's defence agency said Tuesday. The 10% rise comes as European members of NATO have committed to massively ramp up spending under pressure from US President Donald Trump. "Europe is spending record amounts on defence to keep our people safe, and we will not stop there," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said. The European Defence Agency said that of the money being spent this year, close to EUR130 billion was being spent on investments such as new weaponry. European countries have stepped up spending sharply since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. A EUR150 billion EU loan scheme intended to help countries ramp up defence spending has been fully subscribed, the European Commission said last week, with 19 of 27 member states applying for funds.
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BROKER RATINGS
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RBC cuts British American Tobacco to 'underperform' - price target 3,400 (3,000) pence
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JPMorgan starts Harbour Energy with 'overweight' - price target 298 pence
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Goldman Sachs raises Wise price target to 1,550 (1,400) pence - 'buy'
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Centrica confirms further life extensions for two of the UK nuclear power stations in which it has a 20% share. Heysham 1 and Hartlepool are now expected to generate electricity until March 2028, one year later than previously anticipated. The company adds there is no change at the moment to the expected March 2030 closure date of Heysham 2 and Torness, which was announced in December 2024. Total life extensions announced since December are expected to add up to 60 terawatt-hours, of which Centrica's share adds up to 12 terawatt-hours. "We believe in having a diversified energy system, with nuclear power playing a key role in ensuring stability and sustainability for decades to come," says Centrica Chief Executive Officer Chris O'Shea. "Our longstanding involvement in the UK nuclear industry is an investment in Britain's energy independence and thousands of high-quality jobs. Our recent investments in Sizewell C and the Isle of Grain [liquefied natural gas] Terminal further underscores our commitment to securing the UK's energy future through a range of low-carbon technologies."
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Oxford Nanopore Technologies reports pretax loss of GBP69.0 million for the six months that ended June 30, narrowing from GBP71.4 million the year before. Revenue rises 26% to GBP105.6 million from GBP84.1 million, "driven by increasing demand in both Research and Applied markets and further adoption of our high-output PromethION platform by customers across a wide range of applications," says Chief Executive Officer Gordon Sanghera. Adjusted loss before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation narrows to GBP48.3 million from GBP61.7 million, "reflecting expanding gross profit and disciplined cost control," adds Sanghera. "At the same time, we made good progress against our strategic priorities. We continued to innovate, enhancing our product performance and workflow simplification, while extending our multiomic capabilities to provide even richer genetic insights. We also entered into a new partnership with Cepheid to develop automated infectious disease sequencing solutions, while strengthening operations and refining our commercial strategy to target high-priority applications." Looking ahead, Oxford Nanpore maintains its guidance for 2025, forecasting revenue growth between 20% and 23% on a constant currency basis, a gross margin of around 59% and adjusted operating expense growth of 3% to 4%. Over the medium-term, the firm expects to reach adjusted Ebitda breakeven in 2027 and be cash flow positive in 2028, driven by more than a 30% compound annual growth rate for revenue over the next three years, a gross margin above 62% in 2027 and operating expense growth of 3% to 8% to 2027.
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Wizz Air reports 6.9 million passengers during August, up 11% from 6.2 million passengers the year before. Capacity during the month improves 12% to 7.3 million seats from 6.5 million seats, "demonstrating continued strong demand", the budget airline says. August's load factor is 94.8%, against 95.4% a year before. On a rolling 12-month basis, passenger numbers rise 6.6% to 66.1 million from 62.1 million, and capacity increases 5.4% to 72.6 million seats from 68.9 million. Load factor for the rolling 12 months to August was 91.1%, against 90.1% on-year. Wizz Air in mid-August agreed a strategic distribution partnership with flight content aggregator Travelfusion, which the company says will help it "better reach the 45% of travellers in Europe who still prefer to book through a retail channel, positioning Wizz for incremental revenue growth and expanded market reach".
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OTHER COMPANIES
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Ryanair reports a record high of 21.0 million passengers during August, up 2.4% from 20.5 million the year before, with an unchanged load factor of 96%. On a rolling 12-month basis, passengers to August rise to 203.6 million from 192.0 million, with a flat on-year load factor of 94%. The company said it operated over 114,000 flights in August, compared to over 113,000 flights in July.
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Uniphar posts pretax profit growth of 19% for the six months to June 30, rising to EUR22.8 million from EUR19.2 million a year earlier, as revenue improves 8.8% to EUR1.49 billion from EUR1.37 billion. The firm declares an interim dividend of 0.71 cents per share, up 6.0% on-year from 0.67 cents. Looking ahead, Uniphar expects organic gross profit growth across all divisions to be in line with its medium-term targets, and says it is "well positioned" to deliver on market expectations for double-digit adjusted earnings per share growth in 2025. Adjusted EPS for the six-month period advanced 21% to 9.8 cents from 8.1 cents the year before. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation edged up 2.9% to EUR57.5 million from EUR55.9 million. "Our uncompromising focus on solving our healthcare clients' challenges, together with our strategic investment programme, further enhances our capability to deliver strong organic growth into the future. We remain confident of achieving our target of EUR200m Ebitda by 2028 with at least 80% of that growth being delivered organically."
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Cykel AI hires Michael Chan as its new chief executive officer with immediate effect, to replace Ewan Collinge. Chan was formerly managing counsel & global head of corporate legal at cryptocurrency exchange Binance. Cykel's current CEO Collinge will move to the role of chief AI officer with immediate effect, to focus on AI product development and technical innovation. Meanwhile, Chair Jonathan Bixby has stepped down from the board with immediate effect, to be replaced on an interim basis by Chief Financial Officer Nick Lyth while the company searches for a permanent replacement.
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By Emily Parsons, Alliance News reporter
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British American TobaccoHarbour EnergyWise PlcOxford Nanopore TechnologiesCentricaUnipharCykel AiWizz AirRYA.L