AB Foods' Q4 Primark sales weighed down by Omicron, Spirent closes out year with 'strong performance'

London pre-open

The FTSE 100 was being called to open 45.7 points higher ahead of the bell on Thursday after closing out the previous session 0.35% firmer at 7,589.66.

Stocks to watch

Telecommunications solutions provider Spirent Communications said on Thursday that it closed 2021 with a "strong performance" in the final quarter, with several important wins across all parts of its portfolio.

Spirent Communications stated strong order intake growth continued through to the end of the year, resulting in full-year revenues growing 10% to $576.0m and the group now guiding for adjusted operating profits to be slightly ahead of market consensus.

Associated British Foods said fourth-quarter sales at its Primark stores had been hit by the surge in Covid Omicron cases, but were now showing signs of recovery as it maintained full-year guidance.

Retail sales were 36% ahead of last year at £2.6bn on a constant currency basis with operating profit margin ahead of expectations. ABF also stated that looking ahead, it expects Primark sales from now to April to be "significantly better" than in the comparable period in 2021, when its estate was largely closed.

Newspaper round-up

An extraordinary battle pitting New York multimillionaires against their billionaire neighbours is expected to reach fever pitch on Thursday when local politicians in the Hamptons vote on proposals to close an airport in the super-rich enclave. The East Hampton town board is expected to vote in favour of a plan to "deactivate" the local airport that buzzes with helicopters and private jets ferrying the uber-wealthy from Manhattan to their luxury beach houses. - Guardian

Mark Zuckerberg has a fascination with ancient Rome, but last week a court decision threatened the future of another empire: his own. Judge James Boasberg said the US competition watchdog can pursue the break up of Meta – the owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp – paving the way for a costly and lengthy legal battle. Boasberg had dismissed the Federal Trade Commission's first attempt in June, but this time he was swayed by a revised FTC complaint under its new chair, Lina Khan. - Guardian

The AA has told unvaccinated staff that they will no longer receive sick pay if they are unable to work while self-isolating due to coming into contact with someone who has Covid. In an email sent to the AA's 7,000 staff and seen by The Telegraph, the roadside assistance company said that workers who turn down the vaccine and have no medical exemption face unpaid periods of quarantine, which lasts 10 days for unjabbed contacts of a Covid case. - Telegraph

Good chefs have always been in high demand but Covid means they are now scarcer than ever, scattered across the world rather than in Britain. Neil Harris, at recruiter Hashtag Chefs, says: "A lot of Europeans went home and never came back. A lot of people like the Aussies, New Zealanders and South Africans are not coming over at the moment because of the pandemic." Salaries are up by as much as 30%, says Harris. On Wednesday Bob Bob Ricard, a French and Russian-themed restaurant in London's Soho district, advertised a salary of £91,000 for a head chef - plus on-site dining of up to £6,000 per year - as restaurants and hotels compete for talent. - Telegraph

Troubles at Go-Ahead deepened after the transport group announced yesterday that the company's senior independent director and head of the board's audit committee would stand down with immediate effect after further votes against his appointment at the recent annual meeting came to light. Shares in Go-Ahead are suspended from trading after the company discovered last year that "serious errors" had led to its failure to return at least £25.0m to the taxpayer from its operation of Southeastern Trains. - The Times

Industrialists have criticised a government decision not to intervene to push down the price of carbon-emission permits, stoking a row between ministers and business over rising energy costs. Prices have nearly doubled in the past six months, from £40 per tonne of carbon dioxide to more than £70. The spike has triggered a "cost containment mechanism" that allows ministers to step in but they have refused to do so for a second month in a row. - The Times

US close

Wall Street stocks closed lower yet again on Wednesday amid elevated bond yields, with the Nasdaq Composite falling into correction territory.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.96% at 35,028.65, while the S&P 500 was 0.97% weaker at 4,532.76 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.15% softer at 14,340.26.