Spectris flags top-end profits, Coca-Cola HBC reports strong quarter

Stocks to watch

Precision instrumentation and controls company Spectris has said it expects full-year profits to be at the top end of forecasts after continued strong sales growth and margin improvements in the third quarter. Like-for-like sales were up 11% year-on-year in the three months to September, though the impact of disposals and foreign exchange reduced the headline growth rate to 5%. Sales totalled £349.2m, up £16.6m on the year before. Strong progress on margins means that adjusted operating profits are expected to come in at the upper half of the guidance range of £250m to £265m.

Coca-Cola HBC reported strong performance in its third quarter trading update on Tuesday, driven by the execution of its 24/7 strategy. The FTSE 100 beverage bottler said organic revenue increased 15.3% in the quarter and 17% year-to-date, with notable growth in categories such as sparkling, energy and coffee. Despite some foreign exchange challenges in emerging markets, the company gained further value share in the non-alcoholic ready-to-drink (NARTD) and sparkling segments, with broad-based organic revenue growth across segments, including a strong performance in emerging markets, particularly in Egypt.

Oil titan BP has announced a new $1.5bn share buyback after reporting an underlying replacement cost profit of $3.3bn for the third quarter. The bottom line result was an improvement from the $2.6bn recorded in the second quarter but well below the $8.2bn in the third quarter of 2022, which benefited from a massive $8bn-plus positive accounting adjustment.

Newspaper round-up

The Trades Union Congress has accused the Tory government of promoting a “greed is good” culture among bankers, who it said would be able to “cash in on unlimited bonuses” after a cap on payouts was lifted on Tuesday. The TUC said that while ministers had repeatedly called for pay restraint for most workers, they had been “silent over excess in the City”. – Guardian

The City regulator has taken action after finding that customers of two leading buy now, pay later providers were “at risk of harm” because of potentially unfair and unclear small print. The US-based online payments group PayPal and the TV shopping channel QVC have changed the terms of their contracts after the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) expressed “concern” over the impact to customers. – Guardian

Unilever is freezing its chief executive’s salary until 2026 as it tries to calm frustration among shareholders unhappy with the performance of the company which owns Marmite and Ben & Jerry’s. Hein Schumacher, who took over from Alan Jope in July, will not get any increase to his fixed pay packet of €1.85m (£1.62m) in 2024 or 2025, Unilever said. – Telegraph

MPs have accused Britain’s biggest high street banks of seeking “to do as little as they can get away with” on raising savings rates for customers. The Commons’ Treasury select committee stepped up its pressure after quarterly trading reports from banks over the past week and amid continued scrutiny from the financial regulator over their practices. – The Times

Oil prices could surge to a record high of more than $150 a barrel if the Israel-Gaza war escalates into a regional conflict, the World Bank has warned. Brent crude, the global benchmark price, rose from less than $85 a barrel before Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel to exceed $93 a barrel on October 18, amid fears that escalation could result in supply disruption. Prices have receded slightly since and yesterday Brent was 1.7 per cent lower at $86.49. – The Times

US close

US stocks rebounded strongly on Monday as investors hunted for bargains after the S&P 500 touched a five-month low ahead of a busy week for earnings, data and central bank action.

The S&P 500 finished 1.2% higher after falling 5% over the past 10 trading sessions to settle at 4,137.23 on Friday – its lowest close since late-May. The Dow rose 1.6% while the Nasdaq gained 1.2%.

Stocks have been under heavy selling pressure over recent weeks on the back of rising bond yields, Middle Eastern geopolitical uncertainty and mixed corporate earnings.

Conflict in Israel escalated over the weekend after government forces made a large-scale ground assault on Gaza, drawing condemnation from neighbouring countries.

However, reports of military action being more cautious than initially predicted may have tempered the market's reaction to the news on Monday.