2025-11-04 07:46

Group is reviewing conglomerate structure Says no decision has been taken on Primark demerger Hopes to complete review by April 2026 Full-year profit down 13% on weak sugar business Shares down 3.2% LONDON, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Associated British Foods (ABF.L) , opens new tab could separate its Primark fashion chain from its food businesses, it said on Tuesday, as it reported a 13% drop in full-year profit driven by a weak performance in its sugar unit. In addition to Primark, which trades from 475 stores in 18 countries and contributes over half of AB Foods' profit, the group owns grocery brands such as Ovaltine, Ryvita and Twinings, as well as major sugar, agriculture and ingredients businesses. Sign up here. CEO George Weston said the board had for "several weeks" been conducting a review of the group's structure with a view to maximising long-term value, a process it hoped to conclude by April 2026 when first-half results are reported. "Although no decision has been taken, the outcome of this review may lead to the board deciding to undertake a separation of the Primark and Food businesses," the group said, adding that Rothschild & Co had been assisting with the process. PRIMARK MAY HAVE $18 BILLION IMPLIED MARKET CAP Analysts at Panmure Liberum said the foods businesses had helped Primark survive during the pandemic when its shops were closed and it had no online offer. But they said the group was valued at a 11% conglomerate discount to peers. They said using a price-to-earnings methodology based on 2026 forecasts, a separated Primark could have an implied market capitalisation of 13.4 billion pounds ($18.0 billion) compared with 18.5 billion pounds for the group. Weston, who for years has defended AB Foods' conglomerate structure, told Reuters the group wouldn't be announcing the review "if we didn't think that there was a fair likelihood of it happening". "But there are a number of issues that we can now investigate which could make us think that keeping them together was a better idea," he said in an interview. Weston said the review reflected Primark's scale and growth opportunities and a belief that the food businesses are underappreciated by investors. "We would really welcome more scrutiny based on more understanding of food," he said. The review is being conducted in consultation with the group's largest shareholder, Wittington Investments, which remained committed to maintaining majority ownership of both businesses. Wittington, which is controlled by the Weston family, owns 58.8% of the group's equity, according to LSEG data. "This isn't a portfolio review. This review has one question, which is, does Primark belong with food or not?" said Weston. "The way that the demerger would work would simply be, if you had one share in ABF, you'd end up with one share in ABF and one share in 'Newco'." Weston said if there was a demerger, he would be CEO of the foods businesses. A new CEO for Primark is still being sought after Paul Marchant's resignation in March. A POSITIVE SURPRISE, ANALYSTS SAY "This is a positive surprise," said analysts at Barclays. "Primark is now of a size that it makes sense, and food is undervalued within ABF." Shares in AB Foods were down 3.2% at 1139 GMT, paring 2025 gains to 8%. The group made adjusted operating profit, its preferred profit measure, of 1.734 billion pounds in its year to September 13, on revenue down 3% at 19.46 billion pounds. While adjusted operating profit increased 2% at Primark, it fell 6% in grocery, while sugar was only breakeven, hurt by low European prices. "In 2026, we expect the group to deliver growth in adjusted operating profit and adjusted EPS, and we are confident in the group's medium and long-term growth prospects," AB Foods said. However, it cautioned it expected the consumer environment to remain subdued. ($1 = 0.7451 pounds) https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/primark-owner-ab-foods-profit-falls-13-weak-sugar-business-2025-11-04/

2025-11-04 07:44

KYIV, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Ukraine, whose power system has come under continued drone and missile attacks by Russia, boosted its electricity imports to a this-year high of 360 megawatt hours in October, the Ukrainian ExPro consultancy said late on Monday. Ukrainian power imports stood at 140 Mwh in September and 264 MWh in August. Sign up here. Ukrainian officials say Russia has sharply intensified attacks on Ukrainian power facilities, causing blackouts in many regions. ExPro said Ukraine had imported power mostly from Hungary and Poland. Ukraine can import no more than 2,100 MW per hour of electricity from EU states simultaneously, but the head of the Ukrainian power grid operator said on Tuesday the country was currently utilising 30% to 50% of this capacity. "There is a possibility for import and it is significant," Vitalii Zaichenko said on national television. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/ukraines-power-imports-rocketed-october-amid-russian-attacks-analyst-says-2025-11-04/

2025-11-04 07:37

No update on sale of Castrol unit Q3 profit of $2.21 billion vs forecast $2.02 billion CEO expects asset sales to reach around $5 billion for 2025 LONDON, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Oil major BP (BP.L) , opens new tab reported a smaller than expected fall in third-quarter underlying profit on Tuesday as higher refining margins partly offset the impact of lower crude prices. The company said it made an underlying replacement cost profit, or adjusted net income, of $2.21 billion, compared with the average estimate of $2.02 billion in a company-provided poll of analysts and $2.27 billion a year ago. Sign up here. BP kept the pace of its quarterly share buyback programme at $750 million through the third quarter. Chief Executive Murray Auchincloss said he expected completed or announced asset sale agreements would reach around $5 billion this year. NO UPDATE ON CASTROL SALE BP's European rivals Shell (SHEL.L) , opens new tab and TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) , opens new tab also posted third-quarter profit falls last month, dragged down by lower oil prices, though Shell beat expectations helped by better trading results in its huge gas division and Total benefited from higher refining margins. Average Brent crude prices during the quarter declined 13% from the same period last year. There was no update on the closely-watched sale process for BP's Castrol lubricants unit, which is the centre-piece of its $20 billion disposal programme. BP's customers and products division, boosted by higher refining margins, reported profit before interest and tax of $1.61 billion, slightly above analysts' forecast of $1.59 billion and outperformed last year's $381 million. BP's operating cash flow in the quarter was $7.8 billion, above last year's $6.8 billion. As previously guided, net debt was steady at around $26 billion compared with the previous quarter. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/bp-third-quarter-profit-beats-expectations-221-billion-2025-11-04/

2025-11-04 07:25

MUMBAI, Nov 4 (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of India's aggressive dollar sales to defend the rupee are draining liquidity from the banking system, prompting calls for bond purchases to ease the strain, ten traders and economists told Reuters. The RBI has scope to buy 1 trillion–1.5 trillion rupees ($11.3–$17.1 billion) of government bonds, citing a shrinking liquidity surplus even as the central bank signals policy space to support growth, they said. Sign up here. Predictable and surplus liquidity is important to keep rates low in the Indian economy which is facing pressures from U.S. tariffs and slow capital flows. "The potential OMO purchase space has expanded to 1-1.5 trillion rupees up from 500-700 billion rupees," Samiran Chakraborty, chief India economist at Citi wrote in a note on Monday. "We anticipate an OMO announcement following a 'price' signal from rising yields/overnight rates or potentially at the December MPC meet to offset a status-quo on rates," he said. The central bank will meet banks and dealers this week, Reuters reported. The RBI had last conducted OMO purchases in May, and bought bonds worth 2.4 trillion rupees in the first half. Last week, the central bank rejected bids for a bond auction, signalling its discomfort with higher yields. India's banking system liquidity surplus fell to its lowest this fiscal year in October, despite inflows from a cash reserve ratio cut announced in June. Durable liquidity declined from 5.2 trillion rupees ($59 billion) on Sept. 19 to 3.6 trillion rupees on Oct. 17 and could slip further to around 3.3 trillion rupees by Oct. 24, Citi said in a note. Traders estimate the RBI's dollar sales to defend the rupee have drained 1.5–2 trillion rupees from the system this month. The rupee hit a record low of 88.80 in October and has stayed near that level, supported mainly by central bank intervention. Short-term bond yields and money market rates have stayed firm despite sharp RBI rate cuts. Yields fell on Tuesday amid speculation of central bank bond purchases. IDFC First Bank expects the RBI to buy about 2 trillion rupees of bonds over the next five months. "Despite not very favourable demand-supply dynamics, some of the upward pressure on yields could reduce due to expected OMO purchases as support from rate cut expectations will be limited as majority of the cycle is behind us," said Gaura Sen Gupta, chief economist at IDFC First Bank. ($1 = 88.5950 Indian rupees) https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-central-banks-rupee-defense-saps-liquidity-fuels-bond-buy-bets-2025-11-04/

2025-11-04 07:14

HOUSTON, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Oil prices settled lower on Tuesday as weaker manufacturing numbers and a stronger dollar weighed on demand, while the OPEC+ decision to pause output hikes in the first quarter of next year could signal the group's concern about a potential supply glut. Brent crude futures closed 45 cents, or 0.7% lower at $64.44 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 49 cents, or 0.8%, at $60.56. Sign up here. "Crude futures are feeling the pressure today from high U.S. dollar valuation. The U.S. stock market is also seeing a heavy downside correction in the early trade as the government shutdown may be beginning to add downside pressure, which could eventually hurt domestic fuel demand," said Dennis Kissler, senior vice president of trading at BOK Financial. The dollar climbed to a four-month high against the euro on Tuesday as raised doubt about the prospect of another rate cut this year. A stronger U.S. currency makes dollar-priced assets such as oil more expensive to those holding other currencies. Wall Street fell sharply following warnings of a market selloff from some big U.S. banks. The U.S. entered its 35th day, matching a record set during President Donald Trump's first term for The toll is mounting. Food assistance for the poor was halted for the first time, federal workers from airports to law enforcement and the military are going unpaid and the economy is flying blind with limited government reporting. In Asia, Japan's manufacturing activity shrank in October at the fastest pace in 19 months, a private-sector survey showed. French oil major TotalEnergies On Sunday, OPEC+, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allied producers, agreed to a small oil output increase for December and a pause in increases in the first quarter of 2026. On Tuesday, a Reuters survey found that OPEC's oil output rose further in October after an OPEC+ agreement to raise production. The scale of the increase slowed sharply from and the summer months. The boost to oil prices from the U.S. sanctions on Russian energy companies Lukoil and Rosneft was fading, chief analyst of commodities Bjarne Schieldrop at SEB Research said in a note. "Come Nov 21 when the sanctions (on other companies that continue to trade with the Russian companies) go into force they will likely evaporate, disappear or be pushed out in time." Market participants are now awaiting the latest U.S. inventory data from the American Petroleum Institute (API), due later in the day. A preliminary Reuters poll showed U.S. crude oil stockpiles were expected to have risen last week. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-steadies-market-digests-opec-output-plans-2025-11-04/

2025-11-04 06:57

Wall Street indexes end lower, led by decline in Nasdaq Traders cautious after recent equities run up Bitcoin falls; yields dip NEW YORK, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Major stock indexes dropped on Tuesday, with chip stocks lower as the CEOs of Goldman Sachs (GS.N) , opens new tab and Morgan Stanley (MS.N) , opens new tab cautioned that equities could be heading for a pullback, while the dollar climbed to a four-month high against the euro. U.S. Treasuries rose, pushing yields lower, amid a flight to safety, which also helped to support the dollar. Sign up here. Cryptocurrency bitcoin fell more than 6%, slipping below $100,000 for the first time since June. Bank CEOs warned at an investment summit in Hong Kong of the prospect of a stock market correction of more than 10% over the next two years. The comments stoked fears about stretched valuations and a potential market bubble. Shares of Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab were down 4%, while an index of semiconductors (.SOX) , opens new tab also fell 4%. Shares of Palantir Technologies (PLTR.O) , opens new tab dropped more than 8% despite the data analytics provider reporting strong quarterly results. The company, which has more than doubled in value this year, forecast fourth-quarter results above market expectations as the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence is boosting demand for its services. "Big Short" investor Michael Burry, known for his successful bets against the U.S. housing market in 2008, has placed bearish bets on Nvidia and Palantir, according to a regulatory filing on Monday. The S&P 500 finished more than 1% lower, and the Nasdaq dropped more than 2%. The Nasdaq is still up about 21% for the year so far. "There's definitely a risk-off tone with a lot of AI stocks down, and so a little bit of flight to quality with regard to Treasuries," said Greg Faranello, head of U.S. rates strategy at AmeriVet Securities in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab fell 251.44 points, or 0.53%, to 47,085.24, the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab fell 80.42 points, or 1.17%, to 6,771.55 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab fell 486.09 points, or 2.04%, to 23,348.64. After the closing bell, shares of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.O) , opens new tab were down more than 2%, even as the company forecast fourth-quarter revenue above analysts' estimates. The stock ended the regular session down 3.7%. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe (.MIWD00000PUS) , opens new tab fell 11.51 points, or 1.14%, to 996.34. The pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX) , opens new tab index fell 0.3%. Optimism about AI deals has been helping stocks. On Monday, stocks gained following Amazon.com's (AMZN.O) , opens new tab $38 billion cloud services deal with ChatGPT creator OpenAI. The U.S. dollar was underpinned in part by reduced bets for near-term Federal Reserve easing, with divisions within the Fed raising doubt about the prospect of another rate cut this year. The Fed lowered rates last week but Chair Jerome Powell said a December rate cut was not a foregone conclusion. Traders are betting on a 65% chance of a rate cut in December, compared with 94% a week earlier, CME FedWatch showed. The euro fell for the fifth straight session, and was down 0.3% at $1.1483, its weakest since August 1. Against the yen, the dollar was 0.4% lower at 153.60 yen, though the Japanese currency remained near a recent 8-1/2-month low. Sterling tumbled after the UK finance minister pointed to "hard choices" in her upcoming budget. Sterling fell 0.9% to $1.3015. U.S. Treasury yields declined amid the broader risk-off tone in financial markets. Because of the U.S. federal government shutdown, a closely watched monthly jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics will not be available on Friday, as previously scheduled. In afternoon trading, the benchmark 10-year yield was last at 4.089%, about 1.8 basis points lower on the day. Oil prices fell as the dollar gained. U.S. crude fell 49 cents to settle at $60.56 a barrel and Brent fell 45 cents to settle at $64.44. Spot gold fell 1.69% to $3,933.67 an ounce. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/global-markets-global-markets-2025-11-04/