JTC pays $21m for JPMorgan subsidiary, Mobico revenue rises but profits fall
London open
The FTSE 100 is expected to open 84 points higher on Monday, having closed up 0.24% on Friday at 7,895.85.
Stocks to watch
Global professional services business JTC said it had bought JP Morgan Chase subsidiary First Republic Trust Company of Delaware for $21m. FRTC-DE is a provider of trust administration services to high-net-worth individuals and is headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware. The company has approximately $9bn of assets under administration by market value, JTC said on Monday.
Mobico Group reported continued revenue growth in its 2023 results on Monday, driven by increased passenger volumes, route recovery, and pricing strategies, despite inflationary pressures. Profitability was impacted by inflation and a £105m reduction in Covid-related support, resulting in adjusted operating profit of £168.6m, down from £197.3m. The company, formerly known as National Express, said it expected further benefits from pricing and restructuring going forward, with a projected 2024 adjusted operating profit in the range of £185m to £205m.
Newspaper round-up
A development company that sells off land no longer needed by Thames Water has paid out a £14m dividend despite warnings that it could become engulfed by the water group’s financial woes. Accounts filed at Companies House show Kennet Properties paid out a £14.5m dividend in the year to 31 March 2023 despite the difficulties faced by the wider group, which is facing going into administration. – Guardian
A permanent shift to higher interest rates could add billions of pounds to the UK’s renewable energy transition, a leading thinktank has warned. Borrowing costs have soared since the easing of pandemic lockdowns and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as the world’s leading central banks raised interest rates to tackle inflation – pushing up the costs of investment in infrastructure across advanced economies including for green power generation schemes. – Guardian
BlackRock spent nearly $800,000 (£647,000) last year on security for its chief executive Larry Fink following a backlash by activists over the company’s “woke” stance on investing. The world’s biggest asset manager spent $564,000 upgrading security systems at Mr Fink’s home and $217,000 on bodyguards in 2023, according to a filing earlier this month that was first reported by the Financial Times. – Telegraph
Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group has refused to allow the Financial Reporting Council to publish the key findings of a review into the retail group’s latest annual report. Frasers, which has a history of corporate governance controversies, has withheld consent for the regulator to issue a case summary after entering into “substantive inquiries” with the company. – The Times
Only 1 per cent of local government accounts were audited on time last year and there are now almost 800 accounts awaiting an audit opinion, with the delays affecting the sign-off of the accounts of several government departments. Since 2015, when the Audit Commission which used to manage the auditing of English councils’ accounts was abolished, audit appointments have been contracted out to the private sector, with every account being reviewed by either Deloitte, EY, Grant Thornton, Mazars or BDO. – The Times
US close
Stocks closed in a mixed state on Wall Street on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average finishing up 0.56% at 37,986.40.
The S&P 500 meanwhile slipped 0.88% to 4,967.23, and the Nasdaq Composite was off 2.05% at 15,282.01.