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In a depressed market focused on interest rate drivers, outsourcer Serco shone amid the gloom, pleasing investors with a reassuring trading update.
The FTSE 250-listed company expects 2024 revenue of around £4.8bn, down 3 per cent on the previous year but in line with forecasts.
Serco expects its underlying operating profit for 2025 to be around £260 million and revenues to be in line with 2024 levels despite a cut of around 7 per cent due to the loss of UK immigration contracts. and Australia.
The growth was expected to be driven by its defense operations in the United States.
Chief executive Mark Irwin said the financial position is strong. In response, the shares rose 8.4 per cent, or 11.7p, to 150.4p, the biggest gainer on the FTSE 350 by far.
Overall, London benchmarks fell sharply in reaction to interest rate statements from the Bank of England and the US Federal Reserve.
On track: Outsourcing firm Serco expects 2024 revenue of around £4.8bn, down 3% year-on-year but in line with forecasts.
The FTSE 100 fell 1.1 per cent, or 93.79 points, to 8,105.32, while the FTSE 250 fell 1 per cent, or 202.61 points, to 20,399.38.
After a sharp sell-off on Wall Street following the Federal Reserve’s interest rate news on Wednesday, investment groups with exposure to US markets suffered a drop.
On the FTSE 100, Pershing Square fell 3.8 per cent, or 146 pence, to 3,732 pence, while Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust lost 1.8 per cent, or 27.2 pence, to 939.8 pence. and lender Barclays fell 2.6 per cent, or 6.8 pence, to 260.25 pence. p
Intermediate Capital fell the most, falling 2.7 per cent, or 58 pence, to 2,076 pence, shrugging off a price target increase and a repeated “buy” rating from Jefferies analysts.
After recent strong earnings, British Airways owner IAG lost 0.3 per cent, or 0.8 pence, to 302 pence, as the airline said it had had to make further changes to its long-haul schedules. due to delays at Rolls-Royce over a problem involving 1,000 engines for BA’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
There were only a handful of winners in the FTSE 100, led by water companies backed by Ofwat’s pricing ruling.
Severn Trent gained 0.9 per cent, or 24 pence, to 2,574 pence, while United Utilities added 0.1 per cent, or 9.5 pence, to 1,064 pence.
On the second line, Wood Group rose 0.2 per cent, or 0.1 pence, to 65.3 pence, as the oilfield services company said it had been awarded a major follow-on contract by OMV Petrom to upgrade a refinery. in Romania, which will be the first major sustainable aviation fuel production facility in the region.
Other contract news lifted Costain 0.5 per cent, or 0.5p, to 109.5p after the construction group secured another substantial deal as part of the HS2 rail project through its joint venture with Siemens Mobility.
The contract is valued at around £300 million.
Jaywing rose 18.25 per cent, or 0.25p, to 1.6p after the marketing and data company issued a positive outlook statement despite a wider first-half loss.
But Falkland Islands specialist services company FIH Group fell 8.3 per cent, or 20 pence, to 220 pence after suffering a provisional pre-tax loss as revenue fell 32 per cent.
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