Results round-up

Despite a quiet fourth quarter for the markets, spread betting and CFD broker IG Group said revenue and profits for its fiscal year would be ahead of the previous year.

For the three months to 31 May, the FTSE 250 company saw higher revenues than the prior year, when its house broker had expected them to fall.

But IG said it now expects to report full year revenue around 7% higher than in 2016, though after a fall in the third quarter this is down from the 14% increase in net trading revenue seen in the first half of the year.

Earlier in May, with the VIX volatility index trading at a multi-decade low amid volatility levels that have been low for some time, house broker Numis had trimmed its revenue and profit forecasts.

But IG said profit before tax and earnings for the full year are expected to be "modestly ahead" of 2016, with total operating expenses in the second half of the year at around the same level as reported for the first half.

This includes a rebate from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme relating to prior years.

Shares in IG rose 4.4% by mid afternoon on Wednesday.

Numis said the 7% revenue rise was slightly ahead of its bottom of the range estimate of £484.1m and a little below consensus of £495.8m for the full year.

"We believe that achieving the second best revenue quarter ever, in such a trading environment, is a significant achievement and testament to the underlying growth profile of the business," analysts wrote.

London-focused residential property developer Telford Homes has reported record revenue for the year to the end of March 2017 thanks to robust demand.

Revenue rose 19% to £291.9m while pre-tax profit for the year exceeded original market expectations, increasing to £34.1m from £32.2m the year before. The company said it is on track to exceed £4m of pre-tax profit for the year to 31 March 2018 and £50m the year after that.

In addition, it has already secured more than 80% of anticipated gross profit for the year to 31 March 2018 and more than 60% for March 2019.

Telford proposed a final dividend of 8.5p per share, taking the total dividend for the year to 15.7p from 14.2p. The company said that at 1 April, it had already made £546m in forward sales, underpinning growth expectations over the next few years.

Chief executive Jon Di-Stefano said: "I am delighted to report record levels of revenue and profit for the year to 31 March 2017 and an increase in the dividend paid to shareholders. Since the start of 2016 we have swiftly established Telford Homes at the forefront of the London build to rent sector with over £230m of combined contract value secured to date. Build to rent is a strategic focus for the group and we expect to further increase our activity in the coming months."

Telford said its development pipeline of £1.5bn of future revenue represents more than five times the revenue reported in the year to the end of March 2017.