Alpha FMC still set to meet expectations, Greencore to beat profit forecasts

London open

The FTSE 100 is expected to open 55 points higher on Tuesday, having closed down 0.03% on Monday at 7,492.21.

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Consultancy business Alpha FMC said it still expects to meet full-year market expectations despite a drop in margins in the first half. The company, which provides specialist consultancy services to the asset management, wealth management and insurance sectors, reported on Tuesday that net fee income grew 8% in the six months to 30 September in the face of a "more competitive environment with a longer sales cycle". However, adjusted EBITDA margins fell to just over 17%, down from 20.5% at the end of the last fiscal year and lower than the 21% registered at the half-year stage a year earlier. Alpha said this was a result of reduced average utilisation – the percentage of time that consultants are billing clients – due to quieter months during the summer.

Greencore reported a 4% fourth quarter year-on-year increase and a 13% rise in full-year group pro-forma revenue in an update on Tuesday, with an expected adjusted operating profit of £74m to £76m, exceeding market expectations. Net debt was reduced to an estimated £155m at year-end, maintaining net debt-t0-EBITDA within its target range even after £36m capital expenditure and share buyback. Since resuming returns in May last year, £35m had been returned to shareholders, with an additional £15m planned as part of a commitment to return £50m by May next year.

Newspaper round-up

The first turbine to be completed in a project to build the world’s largest offshore wind farm, in the North Sea, has begun powering British homes and businesses. Developers confirmed on Monday that Dogger Bank, which sits 70 nautical miles off the coast of Yorkshire, started producing power over the weekend as the first of 277 turbines was connected to the electricity grid. – Guardian

The wealth management arm of Crispin Odey’s investment group will be wound down months after the hedge fund tycoon was accused of sexual misconduct by junior female members of staff. The City regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), said it was working closely with the firm, as it prepares to shut its operations in the UK and Guernsey. It is expected to return any remaining money to investors. – Guardian

The chief executive of Metro Bank has vowed to protect the lender’s branches as it launched a multi-million pound cost cutting drive. Dan Frumkin, the bank’s chief executive, also told analysts on Monday that the lender will stick to its branch-based approach despite pressure on costs. The London-listed challenger bank said it will slash around £30m of costs a year from 2025 as part of its restructuring, which will hand control of Metro to Colombian billionaire Jaime Gilinski Bacal. – Telegraph

Dylan Field has become the latest Silicon Valley boss to voice frustration with the competition watchdog, as it investigates Adobe’s proposed $20 billion takeover of Figma, his app design company. Field, 31, the founder and chief executive of Figma, attacked the Competition and Markets Authority, saying it had misjudged the size of the market that it was trying to assess. His comments come after Microsoft’s criticism of the regulator’s decision to block its $69 billion takeover of Activision Blizzard. – The Times

HSBC has agreed to buy Citigroup’s consumer wealth business in China as it pushes ahead with its focus on Asian markets. Citi has offloaded the unit for an undisclosed sum as part of a wider retreat from consumer banking in a number of jurisdictions. HSBC will take on total deposits and investment assets under management of about $3.6 billion, including credit cards, mortgages and other loans. – The Times

US close

Wall Street stocks put in decent gains on Monday, shrugging off geopolitical fears in the Middle East and surging oil prices, after members of the Federal Reserve suggested that the US central bank may hold off from hiking interest rates for now.

After a subdued start to the trading session, stocks raced higher following the remarks, with the Dow and S&P 500 finishing up 0.6% and the Nasdaq rising 0.4%.

Scheduled speeches from Fed vice chair Philip Jefferson and Dallas Fed president Lorie Logan were making headlines, after they both highlighted how the recent spike in Treasury yields may have altered their outlook since the last policy meeting.

Jefferson said policymakers would "remain cognisant of the tightening in financial conditions through higher bond yields" when setting out the path for monetary policy. Logan, similarly, suggested that elevated bond yields may be doing some of the work for the Fed in keeping financial conditions restrictive enough "to restore price stability".

"If long-term interest rates remain elevated because of higher term premiums, there may be less need to raise the Fed Funds Rate," Logan said.