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As ideal barbecue weather finally arrived, Cranswick reported a strong performance in its first quarter and maintained an upbeat outlook for the full year.
The Hull-based pork and poultry producer posted a 6.7 per cent rise in first-quarter revenue, driven by strong volume growth and lower input costs, although it maintained its full-year guidance.
The company said it is moving ahead with an expansion project at its main pork processing site, as well as delivering two new poultry facilities in Hull.
For vegetarians, a plant near Manchester is also being equipped to produce hummus. Cranswick added 1.3 per cent, or 60p, to 4,600p.
Cranswick, a Hull-based poultry and pork products company, reported a 6.7% rise in first-quarter revenue, driven by strong volume growth and lower input costs.
But educational publisher Pearson fell 0.6 percent, or 6p, to 1,045p despite delivering what it called a solid first-half performance.
The FTSE 100-listed company posted better underlying sales and profits than last year, but it was not enough to cheer investors.
There will be plenty more corporate results this week, but investors’ main focus will be on interest rate decisions in both the UK and the US, as well as Japan.
Before the Bank of England cut interest rates, markets were upbeat: the FTSE 100 index rose 0.1%, or 6.64 points, to 8,292.35, but the FTSE 250 index lost 0.5%, or 104.23 points, to 21,252.07.
The interim reporting season for banks will end in the coming days following strong half-year results from Lloyds and NatWest last week.
Ahead of its half-year figures, HSBC added 0.7%, or 4.8p, to 670p and Barclays rose 0.6%, or 1.35p, to 232.75p. NatWest extended its post-results gains, rising 2.6%, or 9.5p, to 371.4p, helped by target price hikes from a trio of brokers. Lloyds rose 0.7%, or 0.44p, to 61.1p.
Stock Observatory – ME Group
ME Group has taken off after revealing a deal with Motor Fuel Group that will see the company roll out 300 of its Wash ME Revolution laundry machines at service stations across the UK.
The FTSE 250-listed vending machine operator said the new machines give consumers access to high-capacity, self-service laundry services for washing and drying, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Shares rose 2.1 percent, or 3.8 pence, to 189.2 pence.
Meanwhile, energy giants BP and Shell will also update their market data this week. BP fell 0.3 percent, or 1.5 pence, to 453 pence yesterday, and Shell fell 0.3 percent, or 8 pence, to 2771.5 pence.
Private equity investor Bridgepoint performed well on the FTSE 250, adding 2.4 per cent, or 6.6p, to 277p, as it extended the end date of its £50m share buyback to March 31, 2025.
But pub group Wetherspoons fell 2.6 per cent, or 19.5p, to 730p after confirmation that founder and chairman Tim Martin had made £10.1m after selling 1.4m shares at 739p each last Friday.
SIG fell 7.2 per cent, or 1.9p, to 24.5p amid reports the Sheffield-based insulation products supplier is considering a £150m fundraising.
Among small caps, Mkango Resources rose 30.4 percent, or 1.4 pence, to 6 pence after the mineral exploration and development company signed a mine development agreement with the Malawi government for its Songwe Hill rare earths project.
SkinBioTherapeutics rose 12.9 per cent, or 1.6 pence, to 14 pence after the life sciences company reported better-than-expected annual trading results, boosted by its acquisition of Dermatonics.
Vehicle tracking systems provider Quartix Technologies gained 20.3 percent, or 32.5 pence, to 192.5 pence after reporting a rise in first-half profits driven by a rise in its fleet subscriptions and customer base.
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