Smurfit Kappa Q1 earnings up by a third, Travis Perkins Q1 sales figures boosted by price rises

Stocks to watch

Packaging company Smurfit Kappa said on Friday that both revenue and underlying earnings had grown by a third in the three months ended 31 March, reflecting the "significant, ongoing capital investment" made by the group to support customer growth and security of supply.

Smurfit Kappa stated revenues were up 33% year-on-year at €3.02bn, while EBITDA had also grown 33% to €514.0m, with an EBITDA margin of 17% for the period. The FTSE 100-listed firm added that its first-quarter performance had set a "strong foundation" for 2022.

Building materials supplier Travis Perkins said on Friday that price increases would form a higher proportion of sales growth this year due to inflation as it posted a rise in first-quarter sales and maintained guidance. Travis Perkins said total sales for the three months to March 31 were up 13.6%.

"The group's forecast for materials price inflation, which was originally expected to ease into the second half of the year, is now more uncertain with pricing likely to form a higher proportion of sales growth across the year than previously thought," said the FTSE 250-listed company said.

Newspaper round-up

Ministers have formally signalled the death of the licence fee after deciding to overhaul the BBC's 100-year-old funding model. In the first big update to British broadcasting laws for nearly 20 years, the government said it would set out a timetable for a review of the licence fee over the coming months, during which alternatives would be considered. - The Times

Boris Johnson is under increasing pressure to take immediate disciplinary action against the Conservative MP accused of watching pornography in the House of Commons. The chief whip issued a statement on Wednesday suggesting the matter should be referred to parliament's Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme, which deals with sexual harassment and other disciplinary matters. But senior Tories questioned why he had not taken action directly against the MP, whose alleged behaviour was witnessed by two female colleagues in recent months. - Guardian

The Kremlin has earned a record profit from its state-owned energy company Gazprom as Britain scrambles to free itself from foreign gas supplies amid fears the West could be cut off. Gazprom profits surged to two trillion roubles (£22.0bn) in 2021, the company announced on Thursday, with its finances expected to be buoyed again this year as it cashes in on sharply higher gas prices for its European customers following Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. - Telegraph

Amazon rattled Wall Street last night by unexpectedly announcing its first quarterly loss since 2015 and forecasting a slowdown in growth as people curtail their online spending in the face of rampant inflation. Shares in the world's largest retailer dropped by almost 12% in after-hours trading after it reported its smallest rise in sales in two decades. - The Times

Some of Britain's biggest seaports are considering legal action against the government to recover the costs of building border control posts they fear will never be used, after confirmation that post-Brexit import checks will be delayed for a fourth time. Physical checks on fresh food and plants from the EU were due to begin in July but have been pushed back to the end of 2023, the Brexit opportunities minister, Jacob Rees-Mogg, confirmed in a written statement published on Thursday. Instead, he announced plans to digitise all checks and paperwork at the border, with a new strategy published in the autumn. - Guardian

US close

Wall Street stocks were firmly in the green at the close of trading on Thursday as corporate earnings continued to stream in and investors digested an unexpected decline in first-quarter gross domestic product.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.85% at 33,916.39, while the S&P 500 added 3.47% to 4,287.50 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 3.06% higher at 12,871.53.