Business news in brief
BP delivers dividend hike after profits flow
Oil giant BP has unveiled a dividend hike and more share buybacks, with plans for further hefty investor payouts after rising oil prices saw it swing to a half-year profit. The firm posted replacement cost profits of $5.7bn (£4.1bn) for six months to 30 June against eye-watering losses of $18.3bn a year ago, thanks to a sharp recovery in the cost of crude.
On an underlying basis, replacement cost profits stood at $5.4bn, against losses of $5.9bn a year earlier, after a better
than-expected $2.8bn result for the three months to the end of June. The group announced a 4 per cent rise in the shareholder dividend to 5.46 cents a share for the second quarter and a $1.4bn share buyback before its third-quarter results, helping shares lift 6 per cent. PA
Irn-Bru maker not so sweet on lorry driver shortage
AG Barr, the maker of Irn-Bru, has seen first-half sales surge by around 18 per cent thanks to a boost in “on the go” demand, but warned the lorry driver shortage was becoming increasingly challenging. The Scottish soft drinks group said it was expecting to report revenues of about £134m for the six months to 1 August, helped by rising consumer sales as restrictions lift. It reiterated that full-year profits are set to recover slightly above the £37.4m recorded in 2019-20, before the pandemic struck.
But the firm flagged concerns over haulage issues and staff selfisolation. A spokesperson said: “We have seen increased challenges, associated in part with the Covid-19 pandemic, across the UK road haulage fleet, impacting customer deliveries and inbound materials.” PA
Hiscox swings back to profit after insurance premium rise
Insurer Hiscox has bounced back to a profit for the first half of the year and resumed its dividend for shareholders. Shares in the London-listed firm climbed yesterday after it reported a pretax profit of $133.1m for the six months to 30 June. It represented a return to the black after it posted a $138.9m loss in the same period last year.
Hiscox said its recovery was boosted by an improvement in rates across its operations while Covid-related claims so far this year have been below expectations. Last year, the company tumbled to a loss after it was faced with $475m worth of pandemicrelated claims. It said it has been affected by $17m in claims so far. PA
Joules back in black thanks to online sales boost
Fashion chain Joules has returned to annual profit as it rode out the lockdown disruption thanks to surging online sales. The Leicestershire-based group – famous for its posh wellies – saw online sales race 48 per cent ahead to £122m in the year to 30 May, and now account for more than three-quarters (77 per cent) of all retail revenues. This helped offset a hit to sales through stores and public events, such as country shows, which plunged from £63.2m to £36.6m as lockdowns forced the closure of these channels for much of the year.
Store sales tumbled 41 per cent, while revenues from shows dropped by 59 per cent. Despite this, the results showed Joules bounced back with full-year pre-tax profits of £2m, against losses of £24.8m the previous year. PA
Direct Line revs up as pandemic cuts car accidents
Insurer Direct Line has notched up a hike in half-year profits amid a slump in motor claims as the pandemic saw fewer drivers on the road. Britain’s biggest motor insurer, which owns the Direct Line and Churchill brands, posted a 10.5 per cent hike in pre-tax profits to £261.3m for the six months to 30 June. It said motor claims slumped in the first quarter, with lockdowns and remote working keeping people off the roads, alongside falling new car sales and fewer new drivers entering the market.
While motor insurance prices fell steeply across the market, Direct Line held off from hefty cuts, which saw it lose some business to rivals, with gross written motor premiums down 6.2 per cent to £755.6m. PA
Travis Perkins ups guidance despite soaring costs
Builders’ merchant Travis Perkins hiked its profit forecast yesterday despite a major rise in costs in the past three months. The business said that it believes adjusted operating profit will reach at least £310m, an update of £10m from previous guidance. Yet shareholders were less than impressed. Most of
the gain came from better than expected profits from Travis Perkins’s property portfolio. And although operating profit had risen 14 per cent in the first six months of the year, it was still below the £165m that analysts at Liberum had forecast, so did not come as a pleasant surprise to investors. Shares dipped by around 1.5 per cent yesterday. PA
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