BUSINESS LIVE: Consumer spending slips; Thames Water pins hopes on Ofwat; PageGroup flags hiring slump

PageGroup has warned it does not expect any immediate performance improvement as the recruiter scaled back profit expectations after sales suffered further in the first-half.

The Surrey-based firm was forced to accelerate job losses the second quarter as performance weakened further across all of its major global markets, with PageGroup citing ‘tightened’ recruitment budgets and a ‘risk-averse’ client base.

And in the UK, where PageGroup has seen ‘headcount decreases’, performance was particularly weak with ‘clients deferring hiring decisions and candidates cautious about accepting offers’.

London listed stocks are subdued this morning as a decline in BP shares is offset by broader gains, while investors wait for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s testimony before the US Congress.

The energy sector is off 0.7 per cent, pulled down by a 2.4 per cent loss in BP. The oil giant has fallen to the bottom of the FTSE 100 after warning about a hit to its second-quarter earnings from lower realised refining margins and weak oil trading.

Precious and industrial metal miners are up 0.7 and 0.8 per cent, respectively, in tandem with gold and copper prices.

Investors are cautious ahead of Fed Chair Powell’s two-day testimony before the Congress, which comes against the backdrop of soft labour market data increasing bets of a September rate cut.

US consumer prices index figures and Britain’s GDP are also due later in the week and could influence the future trajectories of interest rate cuts in the economies.

Indivior has plummeted 36.7 per cent after the drugmaker said it would cut about 130 jobs and lowered its profit forecast for the year.

Recruiter PageGroup has tumbled 11.2 per cent to the bottom of the FTSE 250 after warning of lower annual profit, citing weaker-than-expected hiring in June and a more cautious view for the second half of the year.

Customer service levels at the country’s biggest companies have deteriorated, according to a report.

The latest UK Customer Satisfaction Index by the Institute of Customer Services found that satisfaction levels are at their lowest level since 2010.

This week marks a significant transition for the UK, with new leadership at Number 10 and a change in political power for the first time in 14 years.

As we step into this new era, it is imperative that we seize the opportunity to ensure the UK creative industries continue to lead globally.

Paramount Global, one of Hollywood’s oldest companies, has agreed to merge with independent film studio Skydance Media – marking the ‘end of an era’ for the movie giant.

Paramount chairman Shari Redstone, 70, will sell her family’s majority stake in the business with the newly formed company worth an estimated £22billion.

French markets were gripped by volatile trading yesterday after the defeat of Marine Le Pen’s far-Right National Rally (RN).

The Cac 40 – the main benchmark on the stock market in Paris – fell sharply in early trading before rallying.

Britvic became the latest UK firm to fall into foreign hands after it accepted Carlsberg’s £3.3billion takeover offer.

The drinks group, which owns Robinsons squash and soft drink Tango, backed a £13.15 a share bid from the Danish brewer in a deal that will likely lead to job cuts in Britain.

The offer is made up of £12.90 in cash for each Britvic share and a special dividend of 25p.

The companies will be combined under one enlarged group named Carlsberg Britvic.

British recruiter PageGroup has warned of lower annual profit after hiring was weaker-than-expected in June, as the group outlined a more cautious view for the second half of the year.

Gross profit in the second quarter fell 12 per cent to £224.3million, with fees in June down 18 per cent on last year.

The company now expects full-year 2024 operating profit to be in the region of £60million. It had reported a profit of £118.8million last year.

‘We continued to see challenging market conditions throughout the group in Q2 and we experienced a softening in activity levels through the quarter, particularly in terms of new jobs registered and number of interviews,’ CEO Nicholas Kirk said in a statement.

PageGroup said converting interviews into accepted offers is the most significant area of challenge for the group.

Thames Water has said its efforts to raise new equity to ensure its survival continue but there would be no conclusion until the regulator made a final decision on how much it could raise bills for the next five years.

Britain’s biggest water supplier is struggling under £16billion of debt. It was thrown into crisis in March when its owners said they would not provide a £500million equity lifeline.

Its liquidity of £1.8billion is sufficient to fund operations until the end of May 2025, it told shareholders.

Britain’s new government could need to nationalise the company if it cannot secure new funding.

The crisis in Britain’s privatised water industry has deepened this year as sewage releases into rivers and seas have become much more frequent after companies failed to invest enough in crumbling infrastructure.

Investors in Thames Water said in March that the business was ‘uninvestible’.

Thames Water wants to hike customer bills by 40 per cent, excluding inflation, over 2025-2030 to pay for infrastructure improvements and reduce sewage spills, but it needs the regulator Ofwat to agree.

Ofwat will make an initial decision on Thursday before a final determination is due in December.

“Following the draft determination and our response to Ofwat we will be engaging with potential investors and creditors to seek new equity and to extend our liquidity runway,’ Thames Water said.

‘Any equity process is not expected to conclude until after the final determination.’

Interest rates should be left on hold until there is more evidence inflation is back under control, a key Bank of England official said yesterday.

Jonathan Haskel’s comments are the first from any member of the Bank’s nine-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) after a period of purdah since the general election was called.

Rates remains at a 16-year-high of 5.25 per cent and markets expect it to be cut at next month’s MPC meeting after inflation fell to its 2 per cent target.

Consumer spending suffered last month as wet and cold weather contributed to a fall in retail sales volumes, marking the latest sign of weaker UK economic performance.

Barclays data published on Tuesday shows spending on its credit and debit cards fell by 0.6 per cent in annual terms in June – the first drop since February 2021. It linked the fall to cool weather at the start of month.

Karen Johnson, head of retail at Barclays, said: ‘Once again, our data demonstrates the undeniable impact that unseasonable weather can have on consumer spending.

‘The sluggish demand at the start of June even caused some fashion brands to adjust their sales schedules, although I was pleased to see that the situation has since improved with the arrival of sunnier days.’

Similarly, the British Retail Consortium cited chilly weather as its data showed a 0.2 per cent drop in sales values in June compared with a year earlier, after a 0.7 per cent rise in May.

The readings chimed with other signs of slowing growth, including business surveys, after the economy rebounded in the first quarter from a recession in the second half of 2023.

Improving economic growth is the top priority of new Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Barclays said spending at supermarkets fell for the first time in two years last month but there were reasons for optimism.

‘While June’s data suggests a weak month, the view looking ahead to the second half of the year, as we see it, is one of falling interest rates, growing real incomes, and increasing confidence among consumers to spend and businesses to invest,’ said Barclays’ chief UK economist Jack Meaning.

Accountants KPMG, sponsor of the BRC’s retail sales survey, said the economic environment was improving but said many retailers were still struggling.

Retail sales volumes, excluding petrol, remain slightly below their pre-pandemic level, according to official data.