Profits rise at DCC, Vodafone dials in lower revenue

London open

The FTSE 100 is expected to open flat on Tuesday, after closing up 0.26% at 7,454.37 on Monday.

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Full year pre-tax profits at business support group DCC rose 23.7% to £268.2m on the back of a 17% rise in revenue to £12.2bn. DCC's energy division reported a 24% jump in operating profits to £255m. The final dividend increased 16.3% to 74.63p a share for a total dividend for the year of 111.80p a share.

Mobile-focussed telco Vodafone posted its full-year results for the year to 31 March on Tuesday, with group total revenue down 4.4% to €47.6bn, while full-year organic service revenue grew 1.9%. The FTSE 100 company said its organic adjusted EBITDA grew 5.8% to €14.1bn, while its adjusted EBITDA including India - which was otherwise excluded from the results after Vodafone’s merger with Idea Cellular there in March - up 3.4% to €15.8bn.

FTSE 250 housebuilder Crest Nicholson said on Tuesday that trading remains in line with expectations and it's on track to deliver growth of around 10% in revenue for the year to the end of October 2017. Average selling prices were up 12% in the six months to the end of April from the same period a year ago, at £418,000, while forward sales at the end of April were 5% ahead of last year, supported by an increase in outlet numbers.

EasyJet flew a record number of passengers in the first six months of its financial year, though revenue per seat decreased and cost per seat increased. The budget airline reported a headline loss before tax of £212m, which included around £45m impact from Easter not falling in the first half and a negative net currency impact of £82m.

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Sterling is close to crossing back above $1.30 for the first time since September as investors cut their short positions amid hopes that a hard Brexit is less likely and ahead of an expected surge in inflation. There are now fewer short positions against the pound than at any time since July last year, a month after the Brexit vote, with sterling’s rebound also making it more viable for companies to take out hedges to manage their currency risk. - The Times

Energy investors are underwhelmed by the UK renewable energy market due to a vacuum in policy direction for the industry’s future. EY’s latest attractiveness index has ranked the UK market in the top ten countries globally for new investment - but the advisory firm said the move up from 14th place last year follows major blows in other countries, rather than progress in the UK. - Telegraph

Microsoft should have maintained support for its Windows XP system to protect public services from cyberattacks such as the one that brought NHS hospitals to a standstill last week, a former head of GCHQ says today. In a letter to The Times Sir David Omand claims that the tech giant knew when it withdrew technical support for the system in 2014 that public and private sector bodies around the world were still heavily reliant on it.

JP Morgan has paid €125 million for an office block in Dublin’s docklands that will accommodate 1,000 workers as part of its Brexit contingency plans. The American investment bank is set to recruit 500 staff to add to the 500 it employs in mostly custody and fund services. - The Times

A US fund manager has thrown down the gauntlet to high-charging rivals and financial advisers by slashing fees to less than half the UK average. Vanguard will offer the cheapest way to buy funds and investment ISAs in the UK, with fees half the level charged by Hargreaves Lansdown and Fidelity Funds Network. - Guardian

US close

US stocks ended higher on Monday, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hitting fresh records as oil prices rallied and cyber security companies got a boost from the global cyber attack.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.4% to 20,981.94, the S&P 500 gained 0.5% to 2,402.32 and the Nasdaq added 0.5% to 6,149.67.

Energy shares were lifted as oil prices gushed higher after Saudi Arabia's energy minister Khalid al-Falih and Russian energy minister Alexander Novak said in Beijing that a joint deal to cut crude supplies would be extended until the end of March 2018 from the middle of this year. The 2016 agreement was to cut output by 1.8m barrels a day in the first half of this year and Russia said this latest agreement is expected to be on the same terms.

At the time of the US close, West Texas Intermediate was up 1.9% to $48.75 a barrel and Brent crude was 1.7% higher at $51.70.