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Deliveroo orders drop 9% in first three months of 2023
Orders at Deliveroo fell 9% in the first three months of 2023 as cost-of-living pressures continue to hurt demand for takeaways.
The fall in order volumes was steeper outside the UK, down 15% to 32.5 million, while the decline was more modest in the UK and Ireland, down 3%.
Group revenues increased 4% to top £500 million, while gross transaction value, a measure of the size of orders, declined 1% to £1.7 billion.
CEO Will Shu said the results “represent a resilient performance, particularly in the context of inflationary pressures and the ongoing cost of living crisis and against a challenging comparison base.”
FTSE 100 seen flat, Brent crude down 1%
More signs that policymakers will need further interest rate rises to control inflation kept a lid on the recent progress of global stock markets yesterday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 index finished down 0.2% and the FTSE 100 index snapped an eight-day winning streak by dropping just over 10 points.
IG Index futures are pointing to a broadly flat opening for London’s top flight at just below 7900. Several stocks including BAE Systems and London Stock Exchange are due to start trading without the right to their latest dividend award, exerting some downward pressure on the overall performance.
The pound remains close to a 10-month high at $1.244, while Brent crude is trading at $82.12 a barrel after a 1% fall this morning. Gold is just below $2000 an ounce.
Sagi ups bid to take ExpressVPN owner private
Playtech billionaire Teddy Sagi has upped his offer for ExpressVPN owner Kape to £1.55bn.
Sagi’s Unikmind holdings bid £1.25 billion for Kape in February, with the plan to take the company private.
However, Kape’s board said that offer undervalued the business, though they warned that Sagi – who already owns half the business – could take the company private and leave shareholders with little option to accept.
Now, Unikmind has increased its offer to 360p per share, or £1.55 billion.
Transatlantic dealmaking helps Rentokil report revenue of over £1 billion for the first quarter
Rentokil Initial revenue crossed above £1 billion in the first quarter, after its purchase of US firm Terminix helped bring in more business.
The FTSE 100 pest control company pointed to the “benefit of M&A” as it reported a rise of almost three quarters in revenue of £1.3 billion for the first quarter. The performance was also helped by a stronger dollar.
Rentokil bought Terminix for $6.7 billion in 2022, helping it bring its core pest control business to a global scale. It said today that demand for help with termite infestations contributed to “ a strong start to the year” and its integration plan for the US company “progressed well”, with its cost saving programme “on track to meet full year guidance.”
It stood by its expectations for the group for the rest of the year.
Tesla shares drop after Q1 update
Tesla shares were 6% lower in after-hours trading last night after the electric car maker revealed the profits impact of lower selling prices and higher raw material and logistics costs.
Revenues rose 24% to $23.3 billion (£18.7 billion) after Tesla delivered 422,875 vehicles, an increase of 36% on the figure for the same quarter a year earlier.
However, net income dropped 24% to $2.5 billion (£2 billion) after a near eight percentage point drop in operating margin to 11.4%.
Tesla, which is led by Elon Musk, said: “Although we implemented price reductions on many vehicle models across regions in the first quarter, our operating margins reduced at a manageable rate.
“We expect ongoing cost reduction of our vehicles, including improved production efficiency at our newest factories and lower logistics costs, and remain focused on operating leverage as we scale.”
For 2023, the company said it expects to remain ahead of its long-term 50% compound annual growth rate target with around 1.8 million cars for the year. It added: “We continue to believe that our operating margin will remain among the highest in the industry.”
FCA launches probe into WANdisco amid concerns over fraud
The UK’s finance watchdog has begun an investigation into beleaguered tech firm WANdisco amid concerns over fraud.
The investigation follows a series of trading updates by WANdisco, which may have materially mis-stated the company’s financial position. An internal investigation into suspected fraud found over $115 million in missing bookings.
WANdisco said it “ has been notified by the Financial Conduct Authority of its commencement of an investigation into the Company.”
“The Board is co-operating with the FCA in this endeavour, in addition to continuing to support the completion of the independent investigation already being undertaken by FRP Advisory.”
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