Berendsen, Intercede and WPP

“The FTSE100 was down in early trading following falls on Wall Street and in Asia as markets continue mindful about political risk in UK, Europe and the US. Traders will also be assessing a plethora of services purchasing-managers' index data in the UK, Europe and the US,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.

“Industrial laundry group Berendsen was the FTSE250’s biggest faller despite a rise in full-year revenues and profits. Berendsen’s UK textile operations had a difficult second half and the group has made investments in plants, people and systems to improve performance. This year, though, will be one of transition and it will continue to be beset by legacy issues until the halfway stage. Berendsen’s shares were down by more than 17.9% in early trading.

“Cybersecurity specialist Intercede’s shares plunged after it warned that full-year losses are likely to be higher than previous forecasts. The group is facing a short-term squeeze due to US President Donald Trump’s commitment to ramp up military and infrastructure expenditure which may have a knock-on effect on the £2m of orders that Intercede has in the pipeline which include US government and defence contractor customers. Intercede’s shares were down by over 18.2%.

“WPP has posted much improved full-year pre-tax profit after it enjoyed currency tailwinds in the second half. WPP budgets for 2017 have been prepared on a cautious basis but continue to reflect the faster growing geographical markets of Asia Pacific, Latin America, Africa & the Middle East and central & eastern Europe.”

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