It’s a big day in the corporate calendar as a host of companies report on their progress – with many winners emerging in the tougher economy.
Among the dozens of well-known names publishing results were the world’s largest food group in Nestle, Shell – the second-largest firm on the FTSE 100 – to Guinness owner Diageo.
Nestle
A theme this week has been raised annual revenue guidance from big consumer products firms including Reckitt Benckiser and Unilever.
Nestle did not buck that trend on Thursday when it revealed that steep price increases to offset rising input costs had bolstered sales during its second quarter.
AdvertisementThe Kit Kat maker said it had managed to maintain a 17% margin and it was yet to see any big fall in demand from rising prices. It raised its full year sales growth forecast to 7-8%.
1:44 Unilever: Full impact of inflation not felt by customersBarclays
More from BusinessThe UK listed bank reported a 24% decline in first half profits to £3.7bn as it booked a £1.5bn provision for a trading blunder in the United States.
A strong second quarter was overshadowed as Barclays said the cost of the misconduct included a possible £165m hit from a regulatory fine and that provisions for the error had now hit a total of £1.8bn to date.
The bulk of the sum mostly covers the costs of having to buy back billions of dollars worth of securities it sold in error.
Like rival Lloyds on Wednesday, it also made a provision for a possible surge in loan defaults as the economy slows and inflation surges. That came in at £341m.
Diageo
Diageo said it was able to raise prices to “more than offset” its cost inflation of roughly 7-8% since the start of the Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The company behind Guinness, Johnnie Walker whisky and Tanqueray gin beat annual sales forecasts as more people drank expensive spirits and bars reopened after pandemic lockdowns the previous year.
Net sales jumped 21.4% to £15.5bn in the year to 30 June.
But the FTSE 100 firm sounded a note of greater caution over the year ahead, saying it feared consumer spending power would weaken across its core global markets.
Shell
The oil and gas firm revealed a second successive quarter of record profits.
They came in at $11.5bn (£9.5bn) between April and June – lifted by a tripling of refining profits and strong gas trading thanks to continued higher energy prices caused latterly by Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The company, which is facing down a UK windfall tax on its earnings under efforts to support households navigate the price crisis, announced a share buyback programme of $6bn but did not raise its dividend to shareholders.
Centrica
The company behind British Gas reported a huge increase in first half profits, boosted by asset sales and soaring energy prices.
Centrica said it would restore its dividend – suspended since 2020 as it began a transformation programme – after adjusted operating profits rose to £1.34bn.
That was up from £262m a year earlier.
However the profit generated by its British Gas Energy arm, the residential supply business, fell by almost half to £98m.
Centrica part-blamed a 204,000 rise in customer numbers in the period as the majority of them were from collapsed Together Energy, which forced British Gas to purchase more energy for them at higher prices.
Chief executive Chris O’Shea moved to distance the sector from any suggestion of energy bill profiteering by saying British Gas was making just £6 per customer.
Stellantis
The world’s fourth largest carmaker, which includes Vauxhall, Chrysler and Peugeot in its stable of brands, posted record results for the first half of the year despite challenges including raw material inflation and semiconductor scarcity.
Adjusted earnings rose 44% to €12.4bn (£10.4bn) thanks, mainly, to rising sale prices.
“We are ahead of Tesla in Europe in electric vehicle sales, and not far from Volkswagen”, the company’s chief financial officer told analysts.