Reckitt reports good first quarter; Centrica to axe 3,000 jobs

London’s FTSE 100 is seen starting 64 points lower than Friday’s close at 6,279.

Stocks to watch

Centrica said it expected to axe 3,000 jobs in 2016 as part of its cost cutting plans, with 800 to go in the first quarter.

In a trading statement, the company said UK Home energy supply accounts were down 1.5% in the first quarter primarily as a result of significant long term contracts roll-off.

It said there were “propositions” planned for launch in the second quarter and the third gas price reduction since the start of 2015 kicked in on 6 March.

Centrica said debt would be cut to £4.4bn in the first quarter, benefiting from strong working capital management and seasonal phasing of cash flows.

Consumer products firm Reckitt Benckiser described its first quarter as “good” on Monday, despite a number of challenging trading conditions, with sales growing 5% on a like-for-like basis and 4% on an actual basis to £2.3bn.

The FTSE 100 group said the results were in line with its full-year targets, with Europe and Australia/New Zealand “strong”, while the US and Russia were impacted by retailer de-stocking due to the weaker flu season.

Revenue was up 3% on a like-for-like basis in Europe and North America, including Australia/New Zealand, while developing markets were up 10% on a like-for-like basis, and food grew 2%.

In the press

Leaving the EU would cost households £4,300 a year making them “permanently poorer”, Chancellor George Osborne will say on Monday when the government publishes its long-term assessment of the economic costs of Brexit. Saying that British people should be “builders, not wreckers”, the chancellor will say, “Britain is safer, stronger and better off inside a reformed EU.” – Financial Times

Stamping out “toxic” tax avoidance by multinational companies will take years, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund has warned. Christine Lagarde said a comprehensive global agreement on how corporations should be taxed “would take a long time to negotiate”, as she stressed that it was important to strike a balance between competition and compliance. – Telegraph

Andrew Mackenzie, the chief executive of struggling mining giant BHP Billiton, has joined the chorus of FTSE 100 bosses pleading with voters to opt to remain in the EU, claiming a Brexit could result in a “decade of disruption” to trade agreements. Mr Mackenzie, who became BHP’s chief executive in 2013 after a career at BP and Rio Tinto, will argue today that membership of the EU is the UK’s “best hope for magnifying its voice on the global stage”. – Telegraph

Boots faces the prospect of an investigation by the pharmacy watchdog, following a Guardian investigation into the multibillion pound chain. The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) is calling in evidence on the allegations made in the report, which revealed that managers at Britain’s biggest chain of chemists have been forcing staff to milk NHS schemes, in order to increase company profits. – Guardian

US close

Wall Street was slightly in the red on Friday, albeit after a strong week that saw many short-sellers forced to cover their positions, as bank sector earnings came in less weak than analysts feared and oil prices remained near their recent highs.

On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.16% or 28.97 points to 17,897.46 points, the S&P 500 0.10% or 2.05 points to 2,080.73 and the Nasdaq fell by another 0.16% or 7.07 points to 4,938.22.

That came as investors mulled data revealing a further slowdown in China’s economic growth in the first quarter and a worse-than-expected drop in US industrial production.