29th Jul 2026 07:55
(Alliance News) - Standard Chartered and Reckitt announce new buybacks, while Greggs reports improved half-year profit and trims its cost inflation forecast.
Here is what you need to know before the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: called 0.2% higher at 10,889.12
GBP: lower at USD1.3298 (USD1.3306 at previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS
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UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband will focus on strengthening ties with Europe during his first visit to the continent as foreign secretary. He will travel to both France and Spain on Wednesday to meet ministers and discuss potential new opportunities for British people and businesses with the EU. The visits come as both countries experience devastating wildfires, with roughly 330,000 people having to be evacuated from France and Spain. Miliband will offer the UK's solidarity following the destruction, whilst also arguing it is a powerful reminder of the climate crisis which demands collective action. He will meet his French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot in Paris to discuss defending European security and providing ongoing support to Ukraine.
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BROKER RATINGS
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JPMorgan raises Barclays price target to 610 (600) pence - 'overweight'
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RBC cuts Barclays price target to 550 (575) pence - 'outperform'
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Lender Standard Chartered hails a "record first half performance", announced a USD1.0 billion buyback and lifts guidance. It now expects operating income growth year-on-year for 2026 around the middle of its 5% to 7% range at constant currency and excluding "material notable items". It previously expected growth towards the lower end of the range. First half pretax profit rises 9.1% to USD4.78 billion from USD4.38 billion, with operating income climbing 6.4% to USD11.60 billion from USD10.91 billion. In the second quarter alone, pretax profit rises 2.4% to USD2.33 billion from USD2.28 billion and operating income is 3.2% higher at USD5.70 billion from USD5.53 billion. Pretax profit beats consensus of USD2.07 billion and operating income tops a USD5.55 billion forecast. "We delivered a record first-half performance in 2026, with double-digit growth in Wealth Solutions and Global Banking. Our performance demonstrates the strength of our differentiated international network and the disciplined execution of our strategy. Clients continue to turn to us to facilitate trade, investment and wealth flows across the world's most dynamic markets. We delivered a 17% increase in our earnings per share, and our upgraded income guidance and new share buyback of USD1.0 billion reflect our confidence in the business," Chief Executive Bill Winters says.
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Reckitt Benckiser raises its dividend and announces a new buyback of up to GBP500 million over the next 12 months, as it reports like-for-like growth accelerated in the second quarter. The consumer goods firm backs its annual outturn. Pretax profit in the first half of 2026 falls by a quarter to GBP981 million from GBP1.31 billion, with net revenue declining 8.2% to GBP6.41 billion from GBP6.98 billion. Looking at just its "core" offering plus Mead Johnson, net revenue rises 1.7% to GBP6.18 billion from GBP6.07 billion. The prior year's total net revenue figure includes GBP911 million from the Essential Home offering, sold at the end of 2025. Half-year like-for-like net revenue improves 2.6%, and for the second quarter alone, it was 4.7%. "We accelerated like-for-like net revenue growth in the second quarter to drive a good first half performance. The strategic choices we have made are strengthening our execution, with all of our areas and categories accelerating in Q2 and a balanced contribution from volume and price/mix. The strength of our Powerbrands and strong consumer response to our recent innovations underpin these results," Chief Executive Officer Kris Licht says. "We are focused on delivering our plan for the second half of the year and reiterate our full year 2026 expectations." Reckitt still expects core like-for-like net revenue growth between 4% and 5% for the whole of 2026. Core like-for-like net revenue growth in the first half was 2.7% and for the second quarter alone it was 4.2%. Reckitt has upped its interim dividend by 5.0% to 88.6 pence from 84.4p. A new GBP500 million buyback programme is to "commence imminently".
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Enterprise software firm Sage Group backs its annual guidance, after "accelerating revenue growth" across the first nine months of its financial year. In the nine-month stretch to June 30, revenue grows 11% to GBP2.06 billion from GBP1.86 billion a year prior. Sage Business Cloud revenue alone is 15% higher at GBP1.76 billion. Organic revenue growth was 10%, 14% at Sage Business Cloud alone. "We continue to expect organic total revenue growth for FY26 to be above 9%, and operating margins to trend upwards in FY26 and beyond, as we focus on efficiently scaling the group," it adds. "Sterling strengthened against the US dollar and weakened against other currencies compared to the prior period, resulting in a broadly neutral exchange rate impact at the group level."
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Rio Tinto posts sharply higher first‑half profit and revenue supported by broad productivity gains across the business. The London-based miner says attributable net earnings in the six months to June 30 surge 47% to USD6.66 billion from USD4.53 billion a year prior. Underlying earnings climb 43% to USD6.85 billion from USD4.81 billion, while underlying earnings per share grow 42% to 421.4 US cents from 296.0 cents. Rio Tinto lifts its ordinary dividend per share by 43% to 211.0 US cents from 148.0 cents. Consolidated sales revenue rises 15% to USD31.03 billion from USD26.87 billion.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Bakery chain Greggs reports improved half-year earnings despite a "challenging market" and its dividend and full-year view is unchanged. Pretax profit in the 26 weeks to June 27 improves 20% to GBP76.0 million from GBP63.5 million, with revenue rising 7.2% to GBP1.10 billion from GBP1.03 billion. Greggs says it continued "to grow share and overall volumes in a challenging market". Supporting its bottom line was a "soft" prior year figure, growth in its grocery offering and "strong cost control and the phasing of cost inflation". The grocery products include its bake at home available at some UK supermarkets. The company says: "After a challenging 2025, we have delivered an improved sales performance and good cost control through the first half of 2026, resulting in strong profit growth. Through disciplined estate expansion and a focus on innovation, Greggs is evolving its offer further and making the brand more convenient for a wider range of customers. The outlook for cost inflation in 2026 has reduced, albeit some uncertainty remains. We are making great progress in building the supply chain infrastructure that will support the significant growth opportunities that lie ahead. As previously guided, the cost headwind from this increased capacity is expected to result in profits in the second half reducing year-on-year, absent a recovery in the consumer backdrop. The board's expectations for the full-year outcome are unchanged." Cost inflation over the first half was 2.2%, it says, a level it now expects for the whole year. It had previously expected cost inflation of around 3% on a like-for-like basis.
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Luxury carmaker Aston Martin reports a wider pretax loss of GBP154.2 million for the first half of the year, from GBP140.8 million 12 months earlier. In the second quarter alone, it stretches to GBP88.7 million from GBP61.2 million. Revenue in the half-year climbs 38% to GBP626.6 million from GBP454.4 million, rising 62% to GBP358.2 million from GBP220.5 million in the second quarter. Aston Martin says it was a "materially improved" half-year performance compared with a year earlier and its notes its second quarter free cash outflow eases to GBP81 million from GBP201.1 million a year prior. "H1 2026 demonstrates that we are on track to deliver material financial improvement this year compared with 2025. Q2 2026 total wholesale volumes increased by 43% compared to the prior year period as our focus on smoothing production cadence materialised, with core retail volumes continuing to run ahead of supply," CEO Adrian Hallmark says. "Valhalla deliveries in H1 2026 supported the improved financial performance including gross profit increasing by 68% from GBP127 million to GBP213 million with gross margin up to 34%. We expect an even stronger second half." Aston Martin last week completed a GBP550 million debt financing, which the CEO says "significantly strengthens our liquidity, providing us with both additional resilience and further flexibility to execute our current and future product plans". For 2026, it still expects wholesale volumes at a similar level to last year's 5,448.
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OTHER COMPANIES
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Kerry Group says it had a strong first half, noting a "step up in volume growth in the second quarter". The provider of nutrition products says pretax profit in the first half of 2026 falls 7.3% to EUR327.8 million from EUR353.6 million, as revenue falls 3.7% to EUR3.34 billion from EUR3.46 billion. "We are pleased to report a strong performance in the first half, reflecting a step up in volume growth in the second quarter and continued strong margin expansion. We delivered volume growth across all three regions, with strong growth and market outperformance in the Americas, a solid performance in Europe and good growth in [Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa]," CEO Edmond Scanlon says. Kerry maintains its constant currency adjusted earnings per share growth guidance range of 6% to 10% for the full-year. It also updates longer-term guidance. The CEO says: "Today we have updated our financial targets and earnings growth algorithm to 2030. Our revenue volume growth target range of 3-5% represents our confidence in continuing to deliver consistent strong market outperformance and is set in the context of current market conditions. This growth combined with our [earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation] margin target of 20-21% by 2030 will be the key drivers of delivering our HSD+ earnings growth over the coming years."
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By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor
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Related Shares:
BarclaysStandard CharteredReckittSage GroupRio TintoGreggsAston Martin Lagonda