Mitchells & Butlers, Anglo Asian and Safestyle

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“The FTSE 100 edged up after the US Federal Reserve said that while interest rates would remain unchanged, the central bank intended to start the process of tightening while at home investors continue to mull the Government's handling of Brexit negotiations,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.

Mitchells & Butlers’ shares edged lower in early trading despite the group continuing to outperform its peers. Like-for-like sales rose by just 0.3% in the eight weeks to 16 September due to poor weather. Drink sales suffered compared with last summer’s sunny period and were down by 1.2% but food sales rose by 1.5%. Mitchells & Butlers continues to work hard to mitigate the cost headwinds faced by the industry and remains on track to meet full-year forecasts. Mitchells & Butlers’ shares were down by 0.18%.

Anglo Asian’s shares slumped after the Azerbaijan-focused miner plunged into the red in the first half. Revenues fell due to lower gold bullion sales, partly offset by higher sales of copper concentrate. The results have confirmed anticipated increased copper and decreased gold bullion production due to the optimisation and expansion initiatives which have been carried out to enhance the long term outlook. Anglo Asian’s shares were down by more than 9.1%.

“PVCu windows and doors retailer and manufacturer Safestyle’s shares rose in early trading despite a 7.4% in interim pre-tax profits. The group has seen the severest contraction of the market since 2008-09 but order intake so far in the second half is in line with last year and the group has also taken steps to reduce its cost base. Safestyle’s shares were up by over 1.6%.”

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