BUSINESS LIVE: Kingfisher outlook warning; Henry Boot eyes market improvement; Mobico German rail hit

Just before close, the FTSE 100 was 0.15% down at 7,919.39.

Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 was 0.53% lower at 19,619.25.

Pensions and Isas are the most powerful tools for building a nest egg — and each boosts the potential of your savings in a different way.

But picking the best option is not straightforward; there is no outright winner, and the best for you will depend on your own circumstances.

(PA) – The boss of Boeing has announced his resignation as part of a management overhaul amid a safety crisis at the plane maker.

Dave Calhoun announced he will leave his role as chief executive of the US company at the end of the year.

Stan Deal will retire as chief executive of Boeing’s commercial airplanes division, and has been replaced by Stephanie Pope, who was previously the unit’s chief operating officer.

Larry Kellner, who chairs Boeing’s board of directors, will also leave his role.

Boeing has been heavily scrutinised since one of its 737 Max 9 planes operated by Alaska Airlines suffered a mid-air blowout on January 5.

This sparked major concerns into quality control at Boeing, resulting in the Federal Aviation Administration imposing limits on its production.

In a letter to employees, Mr Calhoun wrote: “It has been the greatest privilege of my life to serve Boeing.

“The eyes of the world are on us, and I know that we will come through this moment a better company.

“We will remain squarely focused on completing the work we have done together to return our company to stability after the extraordinary challenges of the past five years, with safety and quality at the forefront of everything that we do.”

Generative AI has been predicted to add trillions to the world economy in a productivity boost never before seen in history (if it doesn’t wipe out humanity first).

But what if it doesn’t?

Property developer Henry Boot has hiked its final dividend as it struck an optimistic tone on the outlook for the UK housing market in 2024.

The Sheffield-based firm declared a 4.4p per share dividend on Monday, bringing its total dividends for 2023 to 7.33p per share, a 10 per cent rise on the previous year.

Apple, Meta, and Google are all under investigation by the EU for suspected breaches of anti-competition rules, the European Commission has announced today.

The EU says it has launched five separate investigations into the world’s biggest tech companies amid concerns they might have breached the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA).

Energy bills could become cheaper for more than 90 per cent of the country under plans to shake-up the price cap being considered by regulator Ofgem.

These include capping how much profit energy firms can make on more expensive price-capped tariffs – or even scrapping it altogether.

Pennon Group has pushed back expectations for achieving gold standard recognition for environmental performance, with the water firm blaming heavy rainfall.

The Exeter-based group, which is behind South West Water and Bristol Water, told shareholders it expects to retain its two star Environmental Performance Assessment (EPA) status for 2023, and delayed expectations of achieving the top four-star recognition by 12 months to 2025.

(PA) – The owner of Legoland and Madame Tussauds has said its yearly sales soared to a record high as more visitors flocked to city-centre attractions and it launched new sites.

Merlin Entertainments, which is one of the world’s biggest operators of theme parks and attractions, said consumer appetite for digitally immersive experiences was growing.

The group revealed its total revenues jumped by 8% to an all-time high of £2.1billion over 2023, compared with the previous year.

About 62 million people visited attractions – seven million more than in 2022.

Merlin makes most of its sales from Legoland Resorts, with sales edging up by 1% compared with the prior year.

Sales at its gateway attractions jumped by nearly a quarter year on year, which refers to its attractions based in busy towns and cities, such as Sea Life, Madame Tussauds and the London Eye.

This reflects strong demand of international tourism in cities with more than one site, most notably in London where nearly a quarter of all tourists to the city visited one of its attractions last year, Merlin said.

Direct Line shares sank more than 10 per cent on Monday as investors reacted to Belgian suitor Ageas’ decision to walk away from its takeover efforts.

Kingfisher’s profits slumped by a quarter last year amid subdued activity in the home improvement sector.

B&Q’s parent company revealed adjusted pre-tax profits declined by 25.1 per cent to £568.1million in the 12 months ending January following weaker results in France and Poland.

Equity release lenders are targeting borrowers in their late 50s and 60s with new products that would see them pay off some of the interest in their lifetime.

Normally, borrowers with a lifetime mortgage — the popular form of equity release — don’t pay any interest or capital until their home is sold when they go into care, or it is repaid when they die.

Mobico once again lowered its annual profit range on Monday as the group flagged accounting issues related to its German rail business.

The group, which operates transport services in the UK, North America, Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, told investors that changes to how the German transport sector determines cost recovery levels will result in a hit of around £15million to its bottom line..

Pubs across Britain are having to close as early as 8pm as they struggle to deal with the cost of living crisis and skyrocketing energy bills and some pubs have even started closing on the quietest days to save money.

Going to the pub is one of the most, if not the most, popular pastime for Brits across the country.

The FTSE 100 is flat in early trading, supported by strength in oil giants, although sentiment is subdued as markets await another key US inflation print due later in the week.

UK stocks ended higher last week, with the FTSE 100 index notching its highest close in a year as investors cheered the Bank of England’s and the U.S. Federal Reserve signalling interest rate cuts this year.

Energy shares lead sectoral gains, up 0.6 per cent as crude prices climbed on concerns over tighter global supply brought about by escalating conflicts in the Middle East and between Russia and Ukraine.

Shares of Kingfisher have slipped 1 per cent as the home improvement retailer warned on the outlook, and said current-year profit would fall short of analysts’ expectations.

The FTSE 250 is down 0.5 per cent, led by a 10.4 per cent fall in Mobico after the transport company tempered the lower-end of its annual profit outlook range.

Mark Crouch, analyst at investment platform eToro, said:

‘Kingfisher has published a concerning set of results this morning. The multinational DIY retailer has issued what is now a third profit warning in the last six months, with consumers shelving plans for DIY home improvements, chipping away at Kingfishers’ bottom line.

‘French and Polish regions of the business were noticeable underperformers in what continues to be a challenging period for the retail sector.

‘Performance in the UK and Ireland did offer some reassurance for investors, with B&Q, TradePoint and Screwfix all delivering modest sales and market share growth. So much so, the DIY retailer is pushing ahead with the expansion of their Screwfix stores across all regions, in a bid to capitalise on the success of the popular brand.

‘Interest rate cuts cannot come soon enough for Kingfisher who, like the housing market, has found itself treading water and struggling to produce any growth.

‘While the business has maintained positive cashflow and an attractive dividend, investors will be all too aware of the company’s sliding profits – which, should they continue, will crank up pressure on margins and jeopardise future returns.’

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets, Hargreaves Lansdown:

‘B&Q owner ‘Kingfisher is still very much in repair mode, with its performance damaged by cost-of-living headwinds and a struggling housing market. It’s issued the third warning in six months about the outlook for profits, as they fell 25% for the full year.

‘There had been hopes that with interest rates eyed on the horizon, and UK house prices stabilising, that demand for DIY products and services would bounce back, but the company says due to the lag between house sales and renovation projects being green lit, recovery is further on the horizon.

‘The bright spot appears to be online sales, with the revamped marketplace platform, also offering third party products, helping boost e-commerce sales in the UK and Iberia beyond expectations.

‘However, in France, subdued consumer confidence and a weak housing market continues to be a drag and it’s now trimming back floor space for the Castorama chain while restructuring and modernising the store network to compete with rivals like Leroy Merlin.’

One of the nation’s biggest investment platforms has called for a cross-party commitment to scrap stamp duty on share trading to boost the City and wider economy.

Richard Wilson, the chief executive of Interactive Investor, urged the main parties to pledge to ditch the ‘absurd’ levy in their manifestos for the next General Election.

Property developer Henry Boot expects market conditions to improve this year as the Bank of England begins its rate cutting cycle.

The group delivered full-year results in line with expectations for 2023, with pre-tax profits down 18 per cent below the prior year, and maintained forecasts for the year ahead.

Boss Tim Roberts said:

‘Our focus on high quality land, commercial property development and housebuilding in prime locations meant that demand for our premium products remained resilient and allowed Henry Boot to perform relatively well against a backdrop of a slowing economy, rising interest rates, high inflation and decreasing volumes in our key markets.

‘While constraining our ability to bring forward developments in one respect, the government’s consistent failure to make much needed reforms to an increasingly dysfunctional planning system does play to the strengths of our land promotion business while helping underpin demand from national housebuilders, who are still actively acquiring prime strategic sites to shore up their future pipelines.

‘This alongside some well timed development disposals and Stonebridge Homes increasing house sales by 43%, helped deliver a resilient performance.

‘We are not immune from the challenges that the UK economy presents to the near-term trading environment and as previously reported, we expect a lag in performance in the year ahead.

‘However, the outlook for both inflation and interest rates is improving and it’s beginning to feel as though the UK economy has turned a corner, with recent reductions in mortgage rates also pointing towards a hopefully brighter future.’

National Express owner Mobico has lowered the lower-end of its annual profit outlook range by about 9 per cent, as the British transport company flagged some accounting issues related to its German rail business.

The company, which last month delayed its annual results citing the accounting review, forecast adjusted operating profit for the year will be in the range of £160million to £175million, compared with its previous expectations of £175million to £185million.

A Chinese battery giant could pump billions into building Britain’s biggest gigafactory.

EVE Energy is in advanced talks to build a hub to make batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) at Coventry airport.

It will commit to investing at least £1.2billion into a 20 gigawatt-hour factory, according to The Sunday Times.

B&Q owner Kingfisher has issued an outlook warning again, as the home improvement retailer said it would fall short of analysts expectations after earning dropped 25 per cent last year.

The group, which also owns Screwfix in Britain and Castorama and Brico Depot in France and other markets, said it was cautious on the overall market outlook because of the time lag between improving housing demand and home improvement demand.

It forecast an adjusted pretax profit for 2024-25 of £490million to £550million, below market expectations of £560million.