Kingfisher, Marks & Spencer and Britvic

“The FTSE100 opened in negative territory following gains in Wall Street last night and a mixed session in Asia this morning with sterling mildly ahead on both the dollar and euro. Gold, silver and copper prices were all lower and rating agency Moody's has downgraded China's credit score on worries about the future state of the economy,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.

“Do-it-yourself giant Kingfisher was the biggest blue-chip faller in early trading after like-for-like sales slipped in the first quarter. Screwfix remains the group’s stand-out performer but even its double-digit surge could not offset the weakness in Kingfisher’s French stores. The group’s shares were up down by more than 6.4%.

“Marks & Spencer’s profits fell with full-year figures showing the impact of its planned restructuring. Adjusted pre-tax profits were down 10.3% due to the expected decrease in clothing and home sales and increased costs of new space. The group has become increasingly reliant on food revenue and while this has continued to grow, margins fell due to input cost inflation and higher than anticipated waste.

“Soft drink group Britvic’s shares rose following a strong first half. Revenues were up by 11.5% at £756.3m and the group is confident it will meet its full-year forecasts. Britvic has also named its new chairman with senior independent director John Daly set to take up the reins when Gerald Corbett steps down at the beginning of September. Britvic’s shares were up by over 1.9% in early trading.”

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