25 February 2021 | 08:08am
StockMarketWire.com - Defence company BAE Systems touted profit growth for 2021 after reporting a fall in annual profit as higher costs offset a climb in revenue.
For the year ended 31 December, pre-tax profit fell to £1.60 billion from £1.63 million year-on-year, while revenue increased 5.5% to £19.28 billion.
The 2019 final dividend suspended at the start of the year when the impact of the pandemic was unclear and raised the payment for 2020 by 2% to 23.7p.
The company declared a final dividend of 14.3p per share, taking the total dividend for the year to 37.5p per share, which included an interim dividend of 13.8p per share, which was originally proposed as a 2019 final dividend, but subsequently deferred in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
25 February 2021 | 08:38am
StockMarketWire.com - The FTSE 100 climbed almost 20 points to 6,678.32 this morning, continuing its resurgence from yesterday on the back of stronger oil prices.
The Government s roadmap out of lockdown, announced at the start of the week, has continued to provide a boost to the outlook for many businesses.
Associated British Foods today said it expected to reopen 83% of Primark stores by 26 April, and forecast better-than-expected first-half performance for its grocery, sugar, agriculture and ingredients businesses. Its share price continued on its upward trajectory, reaching £24.38 this morning.
Spectris Shares price was down 1.39% at £30.45 in spite of announcing a 5% increase in its full year dividend for 2020, alongside a £200 million share buyback programme.