Weekly review

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Billing software company Cerillion said full year results are anticipated to be in line with management expectations, with revenues of around £6. 9m and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of £1.1m, an increase of 11% and 21% respectively.

FTSE 100 subscription broadcaster Sky reported strong growth in customer numbers on Thursday, claiming it surpassed the 40 million homes mark in the UK and Ireland.

Unlike some of its rivals, Ladbrokes got off to a flier in the first quarter, with encouraging sales growth indicating new chief executive Jim Mullen's turnaround plan is working but also helped by a tailwind of favourable sporting results.

Acacia Mining reported better first-quarter gold production than forecast and a 24% rise in earnings before interest tax, depreciation and amortisation to $66m that almost hit targets thanks to an increase in revenue and lower cash costs.

A year-end trading statement from retailer Pets at Home showed like-for-like (LFL) sales growth increased in the fourth quarter, with profits for the full year expected to meet forecasts.

Diversified miner Anglo American reiterated its full-year production guidance on Thursday as it reported lower first-quarter output for diamonds, iron ore and export coal, but higher output in platinum and nickel.

UK real estate investment trust Segro said it had contracted £8. 6m of new rent in the first quarter compared with £6m a year ago.

Go-Ahead Group was pleased with its position after the third quarter, updating the market on the three months to 20 April on Thursday.

Ashtead Group said it had continued to perform well in the fourth quarter of the current financial year and expected full year results to be towards the top of the range of current analyst expectations.

SABMiller said group net producer revenue fell by 5% for the fourth quarter and 8% for the full year on a reported basis due to the adverse translational impact depreciation of its key operating currencies against the US dollar.

RELX reaffirmed its full-year outlook on Wednesday, saying it will deliver another year of underlying revenue, profit and earnings growth in 2016 as it continues to executive on its strategy.

Clothing retailer N Brown posted solid final results and held its dividend steady but has endured a slowdown since the year end and warned of currency headwinds.

Punch Taverns posted a drop in first-half pre-tax profit on Wednesday but shares in the pub group rallied as investors welcomed signs of progress on the strategy set out back in November.

Group revenue at price comparison website Moneysupermarket. com rose in the first quarter although revenue from TravelSuperMarket.com declined in a tough market.

Royal rat-catcher Rentokil Initial posted a strong start to the year on Wednesday, with growth across most of its businesses and a number of acquisitions in its first quarter.

FTSE 100 distribution company Bunzl reported a rise in first-quarter revenue and expressed confidence over its ability to deliver further growth.

Platinum producer Lonmin has appointed Barrie van der Merwe as chief financial officer with effect from 17 May.

Tesco has reportedly received a £175m approach for its Dobbies Garden Centres division from rival Wayvale, which is owned by private equity house Terra Firma.

BHP Billiton was talking up its strengths in a trading update on Wednesday, as it lowered its production guidance for iron ore.

Engineering group GKN reported a rise in sales in the first quarter, but a drop in the group trading margin.

First quarter results from ARM Holdings indicated the microchip processor maker remains at the forefront of technology and analysts forecasts, with licence revenue also bouncing back to growth after a slow finish to last year.

AVEVA did its best to reassure the market ahead of its results on Tuesday morning, saying its numbers looked to be in line with forecasts - though with a couple of caveats.

Retirement housebuilder McCarthy & Stone reported a surge in first half revenue as completions and selling prices advanced.

Rio Tinto produced some positive production growth in the first quarter of 2016, it reported on Tuesday, with its iron ore and aluminium operations particular standouts.

FTSE 250 defence and aerospace engineer Meggitt reiterated its full-year revenue guidance as it said first-quarter trading has been in line with expectations.

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

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.

Economic news

UK retail sales fell much more than expected in March, with food and clothing sales all weaker, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics.

UK unemployment rose for the first time since mid-2015 in the three months to February, official data showed on Wednesday.

UK construction growth slowed in the first quarter of 2016, according to fresh data, with the rate of private house building slowing to a three-year low.

Britain’s Remain campaign for the European Union referendum is in the lead ahead of the vote on 23 June, according to a poll by ORB for the Telegraph on Tuesday.

The UK economy would be 6% smaller by 2030, leaving a potential £45bn hole in public finances if Britons voted to leave the EU, according to analysis to be published by the Treasury on Monday.

The average price of a property coming to the market in England and Wales surpassed £300,000 for the first time in April, according to Rightmove on Monday.

Those voters who want the UK to 'remain' inside the European Union continue to outnumber the backers of the option to 'leave' but an increasing proportion of voters say they are undecided, an exclusive poll for The Sun by ComRes revealed.

International events

International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde reacted coolly to data out on the previous day showing that Greece might have managed to beat Brussels target for belt-tightening.

Japan's central bank may help to finance lending by some of the country's lenders as it studies measures to help offset further reductions in its main policy interest rates into negative territory, according to a report in Bloomberg.

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi on Thursday hit back at criticism from German politicians over the Governing Council’s monetary policy. The ECB left its policy unchanged on Thursday, as expected by economists, a month after introducing a comprehensive package of new measures.

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, according to the Labor Department.

Consumers in the Eurozone grew slightly more upbeat in April, according to the results of one of the most widely-followed sentiment surveys.

Sales of existing US homes rose 5. 1% in March to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 5. 33m from a downwardly-revised 5. 07m the previous month, according to data from the National Association of Realtors.

Germany’s economy may have accelerated in the first quarter of the year, thanks to robust domestic demand, the country’s monetary authority said.

China is committed to reducing the amount of steel it produces to address overcapacity, Business Secretary Sajid Javid said on Monday.

The world's largest crude oil producers failed to reach an agreement to freeze their levels of production at January's levels, as Saudi Arabia insisted that Iran - who was absent from the talks - needed to contribute to any deal.