BUSINESS LIVE: GSK boosted by RSV vaccine; H&M boss exits; Hercules launches construction academy

Boeing reduced its loss at the end of last year – with shares largely flat in pre-market trading.

But the aviation giant has ‘much to prove’ to regain the confidence of regulators and customers after a mid-air cabin-panel blowout of a 737 MAX aircraft, CEO Dave Calhoun said on Wednesday.

The Eurozone successfully avoided a recession in 2023 after Britain’s biggest trading partner reported flat GDP growth for the final quarter of the year.

European Central Bank figures show the bloc beat market forecasts of a 0.1 per cent decline for the quarter, as even lacklustre heavyweights France and Germany beat expectations.

AIM-listed labour supplier Hercules Site Services has opened a construction skills academy to train recruits for work on major British infrastructure projects.

The labour supply specialist plans to teach up to 400 students during the first year at the academy in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, approximately 15 miles from the site of the proposed HS2 high-speed railway line.

Vodafone has rejected a revised offer to merge its Italian arm with that of Iliad, the French telecoms operator told investors on Wednesday.

Iliad, which is owned by billionaire Xavier Niel, said in December that it had submitted a proposal to merge the Italian businesses in what would have created an enterprise valued at €14.7billion (£12.6billion).

Fujitsu will not work out how much compensation to pay Post Office staff victims of their Horizon software until a public inquiry reaches its conclusion, bosses have said.

The size of Santander UK’s mortgage book slumped amid a slowing housing market last year, with an £11.9billion drop in lending in 2023, new results show.

Santander said the average stock loan-to-value rate on mortgages was 51 per cent in the year to 31 December, up from 50 per cent in 2022.

H&M Group’s chief executive has quit with immediate effect as the fashion giant struggles to grow sales against intense competition.

Helena Helmersson, 51, who joined the Swedish business in 1997 before rising through the ranks to become CEO four years ago, said the role he role had been ‘very demanding’ and later told reporters she did not have the energy to continue.

Elon Musk must hand back the biggest pay packet in corporate history after a judge ruled he strong-armed Tesla directors into awarding him $55 billion.

The ruling in a Delaware court comes five years after a lawsuit filed by shareholder Richard Tornetta targeted Musk and the directors of the electric car company he founded.

GSK raked in sales of £30.3billion in the last year, thanks to the launch of a new vaccine and booming demand for cancer drugs.

The FTSE 100 drugmaker’s revenues jumped 5 per cent in 2023 as vaccine sales surged by 25 per cent, driven by a £3.4billion contribution from Shingrix, a vaccine for shingles.

GSK raked in sales of £30.3billion in the last year, thanks to the launch of a new vaccine and booming demand for cancer drugs.

The FTSE 100 drugmaker’s revenues jumped 5 per cent in 2023 as vaccine sales surged by 25 per cent, driven by a £3.4billion contribution from Shingrix, a vaccine for shingles.

Roaring demand for vinyl records has boosted profits at HMV’s parent company.

Annual profits more than doubled from £2million to £5.3million over the year to May 2023, the music and entertainment retailer’s owner Sunrise Records & Entertainment said.

London-listed stocks are trading lower this morning, with the FTSE 100 dragged down by Vodafone and GSK, while underwhelming results from major US tech companies overnight and caution ahead of a Federal Reserve policy decision weigh on the global mood.

Vodafone is down 2.2 per cent after French telecom operator Iliad said its British peer had rejected its revised proposal to merge their Italian businesses.

Shares of GSK have dipped 0.3 per cent even as the drugmaker beat market estimates for fourth-quarter.

Harbour Energy is down nearly 5 per cent, weighing on the FTSE 250, after Goldman Sachs downgraded the oil and gas producer’s shares to ‘sell’ from ‘buy’.

Both the FTSE indexes are headed for their first monthly decline in three as investors scale back bets of aggressive interest rate cuts from major central banks, with concerns about China’s slowing economy adding to the gloom.

Retailer John Lewis will return to profit this year, its chairman Dame Sharon White has declared.

In a message to staff this week, White said the employee-owned partnership will ‘more than break-even’.

Head of markets at Interactive Investor Richard Hunter:

‘GSK has delivered a reminder that it remains a serious player on the global stage, with successful product launches being followed by a strong pipeline of potential new drugs.

‘The long-term potential of the sector is not in question, as moves towards personalised medicine and growing middle classes in emerging markets provide possibilities for endless demand.

‘Meanwhile, the move away from the “white pills and Western markets” model , a phrase which Glaxo coined some years ago, is translating into a more specialised business, which was confirmed by the spin-off of its consumer healthcare unit Haleon in 2022.

‘Highlights for the year included the launch of its Arexvy vaccine, which combats Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) in adults over 60, with the company currently attempting to lower the age threshold to 50.

‘The vaccine was launched in the US last autumn and already has an estimated two-thirds market share, with sales of over £1.2 billion so far.

‘Meanwhile, in its Europe and International business the continued strong uptake of its shingles vaccine Shingrix resulted in sales of £3.4 billion.’

Morrisons is selling its 337 petrol forecourts to private equity stablemate Motor Fuel Group (MFG) in a £2.5billion deal.

As part of the tie-up, MFG will buy more than 400 locations from the supermarket that will offer ultra-rapid electric vehicle chargers.

The International Monetary Fund ought to have learned lessons by now. As a monitor of the global economy, it has no mandate to poke its nose into Britain’s domestic politics.

French chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas couldn’t resist the temptation, telling media outlets that the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt should be ‘trying to rebuild fiscal buffers’ rather than delivering further tax cuts beyond £20billion in the Autumn Statement.

Strong lending income in Europe and Brazil helped Santander offset a loss in Argentina and post a record high profit for the last quarter of 2023, beating forecasts.

Net profit for the quarter rose 28 per cent year-on-year to 2.93billion euros, above analysts’ expectations for 2.64billion euros, thanks to a 34 per cent gain in net profit in Europe.

For the whole of 2023, net profit rose 15 per cent to a record 11.08billion euros as revenues rose 10.5 per cent.

The higher profit helped lift Santander’s return-on-tangible equity ratio (RoTE), a measure of profitability, to 15.06 per cent by the end of 2023 from 13.37 per cent in 2022, meeting its year-end target of more than 15 per cent.

‘Our progress in executing our strategy, combined with the strength and diversification in our model, will allow us to continue to grow whilst further improving profitability, targeting a RoTE of 16 per cent for 2024,’ Executive chair Ana Botin said.

H&M boss Helena Helmersson who has decided to step down and leave the group after the Swedish retail giant posted disappointing quarterly profits.

The firm told investors this morning it has appointed Daniel Erver as its new CEO, starting immediately.

Helmersson said she had decided to step down, saying the role has been very personally demanding.

It posted a fourth-quarter operating profit of 4.33 billion crowns, up from 821 million a year earlier but below the 4.57 billion expected by analysts.

KPMG partners were paid an average of £746,000 each last year despite a slowdown in growth at the professional services firm.

Payouts for its 833 UK partners rose 4 per cent in the 12 months to the end of September 2023, up from £717,000 a year earlier.

In the same period, the accountancy giant’s sales jumped 9 per cent to £2.96billion – a slowdown compared to the 16 per cent growth rate recorded the year before.

GSK profits beat market expectations in the fourth quarter as the drugmaker was boosted by the launch of its respiratory syncytial virus vaccine Arexvy.

The FTSE 100 firm, which also saw sales lifted by steady demand for its shingles shot and HIV medicines, reported a profit of 28.9p per share on sales of £8.05billion, compared with forecasts of 28.63p profit on sales of £7.29billion.

‘GSK delivered excellent performance in 2023, with clear highlights being the exceptional launch of Arexvy and continued progress in our pipeline.

‘We are now planning for at least 12 major launches from 2025, with new Vaccines and Specialty Medicines for infectious diseases, HIV, respiratory and oncology.

‘As a result of this progress and momentum, we expect to deliver another year of meaningful sales and earnings growth in 2024, and we are upgrading our growth outlooks for 2026 and 2031. We remain focused on delivering this potential – and more – to prevent and change the course of disease for millions of people.’