11th Nov 2025 08:02
(Alliance News) - UK unemployment rose to 5.0%, its highest since early 2021, as the labour market weakened, while Vodafone launches a EUR500 million buyback after posting half-year results.
Here is what you need to know before the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: opened 0.8% higher at 9,863.78
GBP: lower at USD1.3127 (USD1.3160 at previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS
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UK unemployment rises to 5.0% in the three months to September, its highest level in over four years, as the labour market continued to weaken, the Office for National Statistics said Tuesday. It was higher than the FXStreet-cited consensus of 4.9%. The rate was up from 4.8% in the previous quarter and 4.2% a year earlier, marking the first time joblessness has reached 5.0% since the three months to February 2021. The ONS says payrolled employment fell by 117,000 between September 2024 and September 2025 and by 32,000 in the latest month, with early data for October showing a larger annual decline of 180,000. The employment rate slips to 75%, while vacancies are little changed at 723,000. Wage growth slows but but remains ahead of inflation, with regular pay up 4.6% year-on-year and total pay rising 4.8%. The data adds to signs of easing inflationary pressures, potentially bolstering expectations for an interest rate cut from the Bank of England.
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BROKER RATINGS
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Santander raises Rightmove to 'outperform' (underperform) - price target 700 (800) pence
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Jefferies cuts Croda International to 'hold' (buy) - price target 3,000 (3,100) pence
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Shore Capital cuts Tullow Oil to 'hold' (buy)
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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DCC posts adjusted operating profit for the six months ended September 30 of GBP206.7 million, down 5.4% from GBP218.5 million a year earlier, as mild weather and prior-year comparatives weigh on results. Pretax profit falls to GBP19.9 million from GBP105.5 million, while revenue declines 7.1% to GBP7.38 billion from GBP7.95 billion. The Dublin-based sales, marketing, and support services provider raises its interim dividend 5% to 69.50 pence per share from 66.19p, and says it remains on track for "good" full-year operating profit growth. DCC highlights progress on its strategic plan, including the sale of its healthcare and UK & Ireland Info Tech businesses, a GBP100 million share buyback, and plans for a GBP600 million tender offer to complete in December.
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Vodafone Group revenue for the six months ended September 30 up 7.3% to EUR19.61 billion from EUR18.28 billion a year earlier, with pretax profit broadly flat at EUR2.11 billion versus EUR2.10 billion. Adjusted EbitdaaL rises 5.9% to EUR5.73 billion from EUR5.41 billion, supported by growth in the UK, Turkey and Africa, and a return to top-line growth in Germany. The company expects to deliver results at the upper end of its financial 2026 guidance and introduces a new progressive dividend policy, forecasting a 2.5% increase for the year. Vodafone declares an interim dividend of 2.25 euro cents per share, in line with a year prior, and launches a EUR500 million share buyback running until February 2026. CEO Margherita Della Valle says Vodafone is seeing "broad-based momentum". "Based on our stronger performance, we are now expecting to deliver at the upper end of our guidance range for both profit and cash flow," she adds.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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3i Infrastructure reports a 7.4% total return on opening net asset value for the six months to September 30, up from 5.1% a year earlier, driven by strong portfolio performance and income growth. NAV per share rises to 407.9 pence from 386.2p at March 31, while total income and non-income cash climb 18% to GBP121 million from GBP103 million in the six months to September 2024. The infrastructure investor declares an interim dividend of 6.725 pence per share, up from 6.325p a year prior, and says it remains on track to meet its FY26 dividend target of 13.45p, a 6.3% increase year-on-year. Chair Richard Laing says: "Our portfolio return is ahead of our target driven by the strong performance of TCR, and continued earnings growth across the portfolio as a whole."
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Dowlais Group says it expects full-year performance to be toward the top end of its guidance following a "solid" third quarter and continued operational improvement. Adjusted revenue for the nine months to September 30 totals GBP3.7 billion, up 1.1% year-on-year at constant currency, though down 1.2% on a reported basis due to FX headwinds of GBP84 million. Adjusted operating margin improves 120 basis points to 6.6%, driven by commercial recoveries and cost efficiencies. Automotive adjusted revenue rises 1.6% to around GBP3.0 billion, supported by 10% growth in ePowertrain, while Powder Metallurgy revenue slips 1.1%. Chief Executive Officer Liam Butterworth says the group’s performance was "solid in a volatile environment" and that full-year results should reach the top of Dowlais’s revenue and margin guidance ranges. He adds that the company remains confident it can "fully recover the cost of current tariffs through commercial initiatives over time." Butterworth says the proposed combination with American Axle is progressing well, with only two regulatory approvals outstanding, calling it "a transformational opportunity to accelerate our strategy and create a more resilient and competitive global business with significant scale."
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Vesuvius says revenue from July 1 to October 31 was broadly in line with expectations as end-markets stayed "challenging but stable." The group expects full-year trading profit to be broadly in line with prior guidance, with price increases now offsetting cost inflation and a structural cost-reduction programme on track to deliver GBP18 million in 2025 and at least GBP55 million recurring savings by 2028. Management said the medium-term outlook is more positive outside China, with steel tariffs and other protection measures, particularly in Europe and the Americas, key regions for its Steel division, likely to curb Chinese exports and support local production; over 60 countries are introducing some form of protection. Vesuvius flagged continued market share gains in Steel and Foundry, noted temporary production inefficiencies in Foundry, and says the acquisition of Morgan’s Molten Metals Systems should complete by mid-November, expected to be EPS-accretive from 2026.
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OTHER COMPANIES
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Amazing AI says it is spinning off 80% of its Mauritius subsidiary, Amazing AI Services Ltd, to existing shareholders, while retaining a 19% passive stake for nil consideration. Following the move, effective November 28, the company will focus on its online consumer loans business. Shareholders on record as of November 27 will receive proportional ownership in the spun-off entity. Amazing AI Services, which currently holds a small bitcoin position, plans to develop a diversified five-asset digital treasury and pursue a listing on the Mauritius Stock Exchange. Chief Executive Paul Mathieson says the spin-off provides investors "direct exposure" to the growing digital asset sector.
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Heathrow airport in west London said Tuesday it has recorded its busiest October with 7.4 million passengers passing through its four terminals. The total was an increase of 2.1% from 7.2 million during the same month last year. The airport attributed this to a "bumper half-term" period, with a surge in demand for flights to European cities such as Brussels, Lyon, Marseille and Vienna. Heathrow passenger numbers during the first 10 months of the year are up just 0.5% compared with the same period in 2024 because its two runways are being used at almost full capacity. The airport said it is responding this week to the government's request for further information about its expansion proposals, which include building a full-length 3,500-metre runway and moving the M25 motorway.
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By Eva Castanedo, Alliance News reporter
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Vodafone3i InfrastructureDCCDowlaisVesuviusAAI.LRightmoveCroda InternationalTullow Oil