You wouldn’t think we were in an economic slowdown if you saw Martin Sorrell’s advertising company’s results this morning – gross profit is up about 73% – although the next few quarters are likely to be tougher than the last. The future health of the UK’s economy may well be in the balance this week ahead of the government’s Autumn Statement. It could possibly the final act of a monetary and fiscal saga that began, can you believe it, in September.
(Bloomberg) — You wouldn’t think we were in an economic slowdown if you saw Martin Sorrell’s advertising company’s results this morning – gross profit is up about 73% – although the next few quarters are likely to be tougher than the last. The future health of the UK’s economy may well be in the balance this week ahead of the government’s Autumn Statement. It could possibly the final act of a monetary and fiscal saga that began, can you believe it, in September.
Here’s the key business news from London-listed companies this morning:
In The City
AstraZeneca Plc: The pharmaceutical giant received EU regulatory advances for two of drugs to treat cancer, improving its prospects for future earnings.
- The drugmaker received marketing authorization for a Lynparza combination to treat prostate cancer, and recommendation for approval for Enhertu for patients with advanced gastric cancer
S4 Capital Plc: Martin Sorrell’s media company’s gross profit in the third quarter increased more than 70% compared to a year before, despite the current tech slowdown and “macro political and economic gloom”.
- Sorrell says clients will be focusing on achieving tangible results, moving “down the funnel”, which he says plays to the company’s strengths
Informa Plc: The publishing company boosted its full year guidance due to outperformance in Live and On-Demand Events, alongside growth in academic markets.
Read about the earnings coming up this week: EMEA Earnings Week Ahead: Vodafone, Siemens, Burberry
In Westminster
The UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is expected to delay much of the £55 billion of savings to fill the hole in the public finances until after the next election in an attempt to protect the economy and shore up Tory support as the country heads into recession.
Rishi Sunak arrives in Bali today for the Group of 20 summit. The premier plans to call for the group to help end the war in Ukraine by closing loopholes exploited by Russian President Vladimir Putin for years. Trade Minister Kemi Badenoch will address members of Congress and investors in Washington today, signaling the start of the UK’s latest attempt to boost economic ties with the US.
In Case You Missed It
UK home sellers slashed their asking prices at the quickest pace since August this month after a surge in mortgage costs put a chill on the property market.
Shopworkers in the UK are facing more verbal abuse and threats from customers than before the pandemic, as a worsening cost-of-living crisis ratchets up tension in retail stores.
Looking Ahead
Vodafone Group Plc is due to report first-half results tomorrow.
Bowing to activist pressure, CEO Nick Read has been selling off or merging parts of the sprawling telecommunications company, with deals agreed for the Hungary operations, tower assets in New Zealand, a stake in its Ghana unit, as well as the Vantage Towers transaction. Talks are also underway to merge the UK operations with CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd.’s Three UK. The strategy could “unlock value” despite soft fundamentals elsewhere in the company, Bloomberg Intelligence’s Erhan Gurses writes.
Among the headwinds are protracted revenue weakness in Europe as well as rapidly rising prices. Estimates compiled by Bloomberg point to a slowdown in organic service revenue growth, dragged down in Europe by operations in Spain and Italy.
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–With assistance from Leonard Kehnscherper.
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