7th Aug 2025 07:55
(Alliance News) - London stocks were called to open broadly flat on Thursday, as new data shows monthly UK house price growth accelerated in July and US President Donald Trump announces plans for a 100% tariff on chips and semiconductors.
In early corporate news, WPP reports a double-digit decline in interim profit, and Morgan Advanced Material cuts its full-year profit guidance.
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 marginally at 9,161.31
GBP: up at USD1.3375 (USD1.3343 at previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS
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The average UK house price rises 0.4% in July, faster than in June, though the annual growth rate eases, Halifax reports on Thursday. The Halifax house price index finds that the average UK house price increases by 0.4% in July to GBP298,237, accelerated from a 0.1% rise in June to GBP297,157 but slowed from a 0.7% increase in July 2024. The average house price is now 2.4% higher over the past year, slowed from a 2.7% annual growth rate in June. Northern Ireland sees the UK's strongest annual price growth again, with the average house price increasing 9.3% to GBP214,832. Scotland records 4.7% annual growth in July to GBP215,238, while property prices in Wales are up 2.7% over the past year at GBP227,928. The South West of England holds the lowest annual growth rate at 0.2%, with an average house price of GBP302,306.
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BROKER RATINGS
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Berenberg raises BP to 'buy' (hold) - price target 500 (385) pence
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UBS cuts International Consolidated Airlines to 'sell' (neutral) - price target 350 (285) pence
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Shore Capital cuts International Personal Finance to 'hold' (buy) - price target 205 (175) pence
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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WPP reports pretax profit of GBP98 million for the six months that ended June 30, falling 71% from GBP338 million the year before, as revenue sinks 7.8% to GBP6.66 billion from GBP7.23 billion. This is in line with the firm's recent trading update. On a like-for-like basis, revenue falls 2.4%. Headline pretax profit declines 43% to GBP300 million from GBP525 million. The advertising firm declares an interim dividend of 7.5 pence per share, cut 50% from 15.00p a year earlier. "It has been a challenging first half given pressures on client spending and a slower new business environment. We have, however, made significant progress on the repositioning of WPP Media, simplifying its organisational model to increase effectiveness and reduce costs. Meanwhile, the acquisition of InfoSum, the launch of Open Intelligence and the continued adoption of WPP Open all strengthen our data and technology capabilities," says Chief Executive Officer Mark Read. Looking ahead, WPP continues to expect full-year like-for-like revenue less pass-through costs to be down 3% to 5% in 2025. It also anticipates the headline operating profit margin to lose 50 to 175 basis points in 2025, excluding any foreign exchange impact.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Serco posts pretax profit of GBP112.1 million for the six months to June 30, down 1.7% from GBP114.0 million the year before, as finance costs increase 19% to GBP22.9 million from GBP19.3 million. Revenue grows 2.5% to GBP2.42 billion from GBP2.36 billion. Serco declares an interim dividend of 1.45 pence per share, up 8.2% on-year form 1.34p. "We have delivered a strong performance in the first half...underpinning confidence in full-year guidance," says Chief Executive Officer Anthony Kirby. Revenue growth, profit and cash generation have all been robust, reflecting stronger organic growth, driven primarily by our defence-focused North American business. During the period, order intake of GBP3.2 billion delivered a strong book-to-bill of more than 130%, which is heavily weighted to the defence sector...Looking ahead, the depth of our portfolio, strong order book and growing pipeline, give me confidence that we will continue to build on this momentum. Around the world, the challenges governments face are becoming ever more complex and acute, driving demand for our services, where we are well placed in growing markets." Serco expects a first-half weighting to profit, reflecting the impact of higher UK national insurance costs in the second half as well as the conclusion of its Australian immigration contract and "usual seasonality" in its North American case management business. The company guides for full-year revenue around GBP4.9 billion, against GPB4.8 billion in 2024, and underlying operating profit of around GBP260 million, which would be down 5.1% from GBP274 million in 2024.
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Morgan Advanced Materials reports pretax profit of GBP30.4 million in the six months to June 30, slipping 47% from GBP57.5 million the year before, as revenue declines 8.7% to GBP522.6 million from GBP572.6 million. The company declares an unchanged interim dividend of 5.4 pence per share. "During the first half of this year, the business has delivered a resilient performance against a backdrop of challenging markets," comments Chief Executive Officer Damien Caby. "We remain mindful of the macroeconomic environment, but we continue to believe the business is well placed to navigate through this period of global uncertainty. " Looking ahead, the company cuts its full-year adjusted operating profit forecast, now expecting a result at the bottom end of GBP115.6 million to GBP126.3 million consensus range. This is a result of "weak" market conditions, mix effects and foreign exchange headwinds, and would be down 10% at worst from GBP128.4 million in 2024. Morgan Advanced Materials added that it saw early signs of market stabilisation in the first half, but does not expect any market recovery during the second half.
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OTHER COMPANIES
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CRH completes the latest phase of its share buyback programme, returning an additional USD300 million in cash to shareholders. This brings total returns to USD9.1 billion since the programme began in May 2018. The building materials provider announces it has agreed a further buyback for up to USD300 million, to begin on Thursday and end no later than November 5, to be carried out by BNP Paribas Securities. CRH on Wednesday reported modest profit growth in the second quarter of 2025, supported by higher revenue from Products sales. It says attributable net income increased 1.7% to USD1.31 billion in the three months ended June 30, up from USD1.30 billion a year earlier. Total revenue grows 5.7% to USD10.21 billion from USD9.65 billion, as the cost of revenue increases 3.4% to USD6.18 billion from USD5.98 billion. Specifically, Products revenue rises 8.4% to USD7.92 billion, while Service revenue falls 2.5% to USD2.29 billion. CRH lifts its dividend for the second quarter by 5.7% to USD0.37 per share from USD0.35 previously. Looking ahead, the company expects to report full year net income within the range of USD3.8 billion to USD3.9 billion, up from USD3.5 billion in 2024.
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The UK Competition & Markets Authority clears Kingspan's expected acquisition of Coverworld, a maker of steel cladding systems. The CMA had been mulling whether the deal would result in "a substantial lessening of competition" in any UK markets and had until September 1 to reach its phase 1 decision. Back in 2020, in blocking Kingspan's acquisition of Building Solutions from SIG, the CMA cited Coverworld as one of four strong competitors to the proposed combination in single-skin construction sheets. Coverworld is based in Chesterfield, Derbyshire.
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By Emily Parsons, Alliance News reporter
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