8th Oct 2026 07:56
(Alliance News) - Tesco has upped the floor of its profit guide and lifted its buyback after first-half growth, Imperial Brands announces a new repurchase programme, while Vodafone sets out "bolder" targets for the VodafoneThree unit.
Here is what you need to know before the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: called down 0.5% at 10,408.40
GBP: lower at USD1.3196 (USD1.3210 at previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS
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France's finance minister said the UK would be welcome to return to the EU after Andy Burnham left open the possibility of a manifesto pledge to rejoin the bloc. Speaking to the BBC, Roland Lescure said it was up to the British public whether to return to the EU, but said they could "come back, anytime".
He said: "British people decided, and that's obviously their 100% right, and if they're willing to come back, they will have to decide. But what I can tell them is: come back, anytime." Lescure's remarks follow the prime minister's suggestion that Labour could revisit the issue in a future manifesto. At his first Labour conference as PM, Burnham said it was not "about leaping to a referendum" as he seeks to find a political consensus on the UK's future relationship with Brussels.
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Burnham will travel to Berlin on Thursday for his first face-to-face meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The pair are launching a new UK-Germany joint security partnership to counter sabotage, cyber attacks and other hybrid threats from adversaries, especially Russia. The joint partnership will involve sharing information and co-ordinating action to monitor, deter and disrupt threats and to develop resilience against threats to critical infrastructure. Burnham and Merz will also discuss support for Ukraine, responding to instability in the Middle East and addressing the impact of disruption to global trade routes, such as the Strait of Hormuz.
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BROKER RATINGS
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Stifel reinitiates Halma with 'buy' - price target 4,500 pence
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Tesco says its half-year profit surged, despite an "uncertain external backdrop" and the grocer has upsized its current share buyback programme. Pretax profit in the half-year to August 29 shot up 12% to GBP1.46 billion from GBP1.31 billion a year prior, with revenue up 3.7% to GBP37.35 billion from GBP36.04 billion. Sales, excluding VAT and fuel, were 2.0% higher at GBP33.78 billion, rising 1.6% at constant currency. Adjusted operating profit was up 6.5% to GBP1.78 billion, it says, rising 6.3% at constant currency. "Our strong performance enables us to keep investing in the customer offer and the capabilities that will drive future growth. None of this would be possible without the hard work and dedication of our colleagues and suppliers, whose drive and commitment make a real difference for customers every day. Against an uncertain external backdrop, we have continued to invest in giving customers the very best value for money. Alongside maintaining our strong value proposition, we have continued to innovate across all our ranges, launching over 800 new and improved products during the half," Chief Executive Ken Murphy says. Group like-for-like sales in the half-year climbed 1.0%, Tesco says, with 1.7% growth in the UK & Ireland segment, and a 0.4% rise in Central Europe. At wholesaler Booker, like-for-like sales declined 2.6%. Tesco has lifted its interim dividend by 5.2% to 5.05 pence per share from 4.80p. What's more, it has upped its share buyback programme to GBP950 million from GBP750 million, "reflecting strong balance sheet and sustained strong cash flow". "While consumer confidence has remained relatively resilient in the first half of the year, ongoing geopolitical tensions continue to create uncertainty, and we remain focused on helping customers get the best possible value from their weekly shop. Our strong financial performance positions us well as we go into the second half, supporting our ongoing investment in the customer offer and the capabilities that will drive future growth," Tesco adds. The firm has lifted the bottom end of its annual profit guide. It now expects adjusted operating profit between GBP3.15 billion and GBP3.30 billion. The bottom end of the range has been lifted from GBP3.0 billion. "We continue to expect free cash flow of between GBP1.5 billion and GBP2.0 billion, in line with our medium-term guidance range," it adds.
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Imperial Brands has announced a new share buyback of GBP1.5 billion, as it hails "strong momentum behind our transformation". The owner of the Davidoff and Gauloises cigarette brands, as well as Rizla rolling paper and blu e-cigarettes, says it is "on track" to report earnings in line with guidance for the year ended September 30. Imperial Brands says it will report a "sixth consecutive year of tobacco net revenue growth" at constant currency and it expects to post double-digit Next Generation Products growth. NGP products include its vaping and heated tobacco range. Driving tobacco growth is "robust pricing and share gains in our target segments in US and Germany" but it has low-single-digit volume declines at group level. "We continue to build scale in NGP and expect to grow share in all three categories, with double-digit net revenue growth. We are seeing strong momentum in heated tobacco with Pulze 3.0 and new iD sticks, in vape, our blu kit range continues to perform well and in modern oral our existing portfolio of growing brands, including Zone and Skruf, has been enhanced by the acquisitions of Black Buffalo in the US and Helwit in Sweden," it adds. Adjusted operating profit growth is expected within its 3% to 5% range at constant currency, and it expects to report high-single-digit adjusted earnings per share growth. Imperial Brands adds: "Our adjusted operating cash conversion remains strong, and we are on track to deliver free cash flow of more than GBP2.2 billion for the full year." Imperial Brands has completed a GBP1.45 billion share buyback announced in October 2025. It announces a further programme of GBP1.5 billion for its new financial year. The firm adds: "We have strong momentum behind our transformation towards becoming a more consumer-centric, data -led, agile and efficient challenger. We are confident of achieving at least GBP320 million of savings by 2030, including key manufacturing programmes delivered during the year, which underpin a future GBP100 million overhead reduction. We continue to build our consumer capabilities, underpinned by investment in data and technology."
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Vodafone has issued "new bolder financial targets" for its VodafoneThree unit after a "strong start". It now targets GBP1 billion in annual cost savings by the 2032 financial year, upped from GBP700 million by financial 2030. New targets include mid-to-high single digit adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, after leases, growth at a compound annual rate between financial 2025 and 2032. It expects operating free cash flow to more than triple by financial 2032. "Today we are setting out in detail our strategy and growth ambitions for the UK. We are issuing new bolder financial targets and we are outlining the execution plan we have in place to deliver these," Group Chief Executive Margherita Della Valle says. "We created VodafoneThree because we saw the opportunity to transform the UK market. To create the scale to invest. To deliver a step change in network quality and customer experience across every region of the UK. And to build a stronger business, creating sustainable long-term value. After a strong start, we now have even greater confidence in the opportunity ahead. That's why we are upgrading our cost target to GBP1 billion, with VodafoneThree set to become an increasingly important contributor to Vodafone's growth ambitions." Vodafone in July completed the buyout of the 49% stake in UK telecoms joint venture VodafoneThree from partner CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd. Vodafone paid the Hong Kong-based conglomerate GBP4.3 billion for its holding in the JV, which is the product of the merger last year of the UK mobile and broadband businesses of Vodafone and Three.
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Aberdeen Group has halved its stake in retirement savings provider Standard Life through a share sale to institutional investors. The wealth and asset manager has sold 52 million shares of its 104.1 million holding in Standard Life, reducing its interest to 5.2% in the FTSE 100 listing from 10.3%. The shares were sold at 839 pence each, GBP436 million in total. "Aberdeen intends to deploy the proceeds from the Placing in accordance with its disciplined capital allocation policy, which is focused on maintaining a strong balance sheet, investing selectively in the business to support sustainable profitable growth, reducing and optimising debt over time, and delivering sustainable returns to shareholders," Aberdeen says. Aberdeen said Wednesday it will continue to be a key partner to Standard Life under existing asset management arrangements and remain one of its largest shareholders.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Volution Group has lifted its annual dividend and it reports a profit surge. Pretax profit in the year to July 31 jumped 51% to GBP82.1 million from GBP54.5 million, energy efficiency and indoor air-quality solutions firm says. Revenue climbed 16% to GBP484.8 million from GBP419.1 million. The dividend per share has been lifted by 19% to 12.8p from 10.8p. "We enter FY27 with confidence in the strength and resilience of our business model. Our increasing end-market and geographic diversity supports sustainable organic growth, the opportunity landscape for acquisitions is strong, and our scale and pure play focus continues to underpin our strong operational and margin performance," CEO Ronnie George says.
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OTHER COMPANIES
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ITM Power has lifted annual guidance, now expecting a narrower loss than its prior forecast. It now expects an adjusted Ebitda loss between GBP20 million and GBP21 million for the year ended April 30. Its prior view was for a loss between GBP27 million and GBP29 million. The designer and manufacturer of electrolyser systems reported a GBP33.0 million adjusted loss in financial 2025. Results for financial 2026 are released on October 19.
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By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor
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HalmaTescoImperial BrandsVodafoneAbrdnStandard LifeVolution Group PLSItm Power