Cruddas trading firm to cut fifth of its workforce
SHARES in CMC Markets soared after it outlined plans to slash almost a fifth of its workforce.
The trading company, which was set up in 1989 by the Tory peer Lord Cruddas, will cut 200 jobs or around 17pc of its staff following a review of the business. This is expected to cost £2.5m in its current financial year but the move should save £21m by March 2025.
‘The group will continue to seek opportunities to drive efficiencies and control costs while remaining committed to investing in growth opportunities and ensuring its technology remains market leading,’ a spokesman said.
CMC also maintained its forecast for a net operating income of between £290m to £310m for the year to March 2024, which it last month upgraded from £250m to £280m.
Shares surged 18.2pc, or 24.2p, to 157p, adding more than £40m to the value of the shares held by Cruddas and his wife Fiona.
Peel Hunt said the cost-saving decision implies a near- 50pc increase to profitability. Job cuts were also the order of the day on Wall Street.
Shares in Estee Lauder jumped 19pc at the opening bell in New York after the cosmetics giant, which owns Clinique and Bobbi Brown, said it will cut up to 5pc of its 62,000 staff. That’s as many as 3,100 jobs.
But there was no such luck for Snapchat owner Snap, whose shares fell nearly 4pc after it said it was cutting 10pc of its global workforce or more than 500 jobs.
Back in London, the FTSE 100 lost 0.04pc, or 2.68 points, to 7612.86 and the FTSE 250 dropped 0.8pc, or 154.09 points, to 19018.55.
National Grid was handed a vote of confidence from analysts at Jefferies
who upgraded the energy supplier’s rating amid growing optimism over its growth prospects in the UK and US. Shares rose 0.6pc, or 6.5p, to 1047p.
Another riser was Hollywood Bowl after the ten-pin bowling operator launched the first half of its £10m share buyback. The stock gained 2.6pc, or 7.5p, to 294.5p.
Heading in the other direction was the North Sea producer Serica Energy. The group’s secondhalf performance was affected by a slower than expected ramp-up in production following planned summer shutdowns. Shares sank 11pc, or 22p, to 178p.
Naked Wines has named Rodrigo Maza, its UK managing director, as chief executive. Maza, who has been in his job since September, will learn the ropes from the online alcohol seller’s chairman and founder Rowan Gormley. Shares added 2.5pc, or 1.6p, to 65p.
Headgear and gas mask maker Avon Protection secured a third order worth £37m to supply the US Army with helmets. Shares slid 2.6pc, or 25p, to 949p.
Porvair, which makes filters to be used in anything from aeroplanes to food factories, reported record annual revenues and profits. Shares fell 0.9pc, or 6p, to 654p.
Cryptocurrency miner Argo Blockchain sank after a 20pc slump in bitcoin production last month due to bad weather in Quebec and Texas. Shares dropped 10.6pc, or 1.7p, to 14.3p.
Chip maker Sondrel said it has made progress in shoring up its finances but is still working on securing fresh funds. Shares increased 5.9pc, or 0.3p, to 5.4p.
Devon-based Tungsten West has made progress in bringing its Hemerdon mine back into production by the end of 2025 after it received a draft permit from the Environment Agency. Shares gained 7.7pc, or 0.1p, to 1.4p.
Technology group Kromek won a £ 1.3m grant under the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Horizon Europe guarantee scheme. It will participate in a project to develop an artificial intelligence-powered radiation sensor. Shares soared 12.7pc, or 0.9p, to 8p.