The FTSE 100 is flat in early trading. Among the companies with reports and trading updates today are Audioboom and ITM Power. Read the Monday 16 October Business Live blog below.
Ratcliffe’s group to take control of operations at United this week
The petrochemicals billionaire appears to have won the race for the Premier League giants after his main rival, Qatari Sheikh Jassim, withdrew his offer on Saturday night.
British firms lose out on VAT-free Chinese shopping spree
London’s global rivals cashed in on VAT-free shopping during a major Chinese holiday this month, with the UK missing out due to its hated tourist tax.
China’s eight-day annual Golden Week festival from October 1 saw millions of its citizens visit Europe.
ITM Power to enter US market
ITM Power has revealed it is bidding for projects in the US now that it is able to supply compliant electrolyser products.
It can supply identical electrolyser stacks into both CE and ASME territories, enabling a single production process and supply chain.
ITM plans to pursue an accelerated, asset-light entry into the US market, leveraging relationships with partners Linde, Mott, Gore and others.
Analyst at Peel Hunt said: ‘The US has the potential to become one of the largest markets for electrolysers.
‘Supported by the US$370bn Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), demand for US domestic green hydrogen production is predicted to be 10mMT annually by 2030, 20mMT by 2040, and 50m MT by 2050.’
Market open: FTSE 100 up 0.3%; FTSE 250 adds 0.3%
The FTSE 100 is up 0.3 per cent in early trading, with the commodity-heavy index helped by elevated oil prices amid fears of an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East.
Asian equities slid and the safe-haven dollar was firm amid heightened anxiety over the escalating violence in Gaza and the prospect the conflict could spread beyond Israel and Hamas into the wider region.
Crude oil prices have edged slightly lower but held above $90 a barrel, after surging nearly 6 per cent on Friday.
Energy stocks are up 0.6 per cent.
Industrial metal miners have jumped 1.3 per cent, tracking higher copper prices
Europe’s biggest defence firms soar as wars rage
More than £8billion has been added to the value of five of Europe’s biggest defence firms since Hamas terrorists attacked Israel on October 7.
Shares in UK giant BAE Systems rose 10 per cent last week, and there were similar gains at Saab of Sweden, Germany’s Rheinmetall, French group Thales and Leonardo in Italy.
Investors seek out defensive positions
Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets, Hargreaves Lansdown:
‘As risk-off sentiment has been spreading, investors have been seeking more defensive positions amid fears of conflict escalating in the Middle East.
‘The FTSE 100 looks set to benefit from higher energy prices with oil and gas prices dipping back but remaining at elevated levels, having jumped sharply over supply concerns.
‘Investors are braced for volatility ahead amid fears that Hezbollah militants could attack Israel over its operations in Gaza as forces ready for invasion. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been on a whistle stop tour of countries around the Middle East, stressing that all leaders want to see the conflict contained, but there is clearly still concern about the risks of contagion.
‘Although gold prices have dipped back a little, they remain a near month-long highs demonstrating the desire for safe haven assets. The Israeli Prime Minister’s vow to demolish Hamas is also helping keep the dollar strong, as investors desert riskier positions.’
Audioboom targets profitability in Q4
Podcast producer Audioboom expects to return to profitability in the fourth quarter after revenues were held back by a weaker advertising market and the loss of a top show earlier this year.
Revenues slumped to $45.8millio in the nine months to the end of September, from $57.1million at the same time last year, leading the group to an earnings loss of $1.7million over the period.
It blamed this on the ‘the loss of the Morbid podcast’ in May 2022 and a ‘weak advertising market’.
However it expects to return to profit in the final quarter though ‘acceleration in recenue and consequently reduced exposure to creator contractual minimum guarantee obligations’.
Stuart Last, CEO of Audioboom, said:
‘Strong operational progress in Q3 2023 will be recognised through a return to year-on-year and strong sequential revenue growth in the final quarter of the year, as well as a return to adjusted EBITDA profit on a quarterly basis.
‘Across 2023 we have made improvements in key areas of our business in order to accelerate our path back to growth. Our milestone of creating 1 billion sellable advertising impressions in October is the result of changes to our inventory creation process, further development of our Showcase marketplace, and the continued growth of the Audioboom Creator Network.
‘This positions us to capture maximum advertiser demand, deliver more than US$19 million of revenue in Q4 2023, and puts us on a path to record annual revenue in 2024.
‘As audiences continue to flock to podcasting – highlighted by the record 126 million plus downloads across our network each month – we are optimising for the current advertising market, while we are also primed and ready to take full advantage of any future macro improvements.’
UK growth prospects improve
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