Miners led the market higher on Wednesday as investors eyed a US-China trade announcement ahead of the long Thanksgiving weekend. The FTSE 100 traded 0.13% higher at 7,412 while the more domestically focused FTSE 250 was 0.2% lower at 20,824 points.
Tobacco giant British American Tobacco (BATS) released its second half pre-close trading update and guided for currency adjusted revenues growth in the upper half of its 3% to 5% long-term range, sucking the shares 0.2% lower to £29.80.
The slowdown in the US vaping market was expected to lead to slower growth in the e-cigarette business, towards the lower end of its 30% to 50% guidance range.
Drinks maker Britvic (BVIC) reported a 24% fall in pre-tax profit to £110m even as revenues were 3% higher at £1.5bn as the company was impacted by the write-down of its French assets. The shares softened 2.8% to 958p.
Pubs group and brewer Marston’s (MARS) reported a 3% fall in pre-tax profit for the year ended 29 September to £101m and maintained the dividend at 4.8p. The shares were off 0.4% to 126p.
Chief executive Ralph Findley said, ‘We are making good progress with our debt reduction plans and are ahead of schedule in meeting the accelerated 70 million pounds of disposal proceeds which we are targeting in the current year.’
Property group Londonmetric Property (LMP) shares were 1% firmer after reporting net revenue income up 16% to £54.9m.
Shares in UK publisher Future (FUTR) were bottom of the mid-cap index today as the company placed 3.1m shares at a 10% discount to yesterdays' closing price, sinking the shares 10% lower at £14.26.
Online travel company On the Beach (OTB:AIM) reported a 26% fall in annual profit due to costs associated with the collapse of rival Thomas Cook. Adjusted gross profit rose 7% to £99.1m and the company held its dividend steady at 3.3p per share. The shares were unmoved.
Advanced automotive testing and measurements group AB Dynamics (ABDP:AIM) reported strong revenue growth of 56% to £58m for the year ended 31 August and adjusted pre-tax profit up 59% to £13.7m.
The shares dipped 7.5% to £26.35 on increased future investment which is expected to squeeze margins. Over the last year the shares have risen by 89%.
