Author: Fiona Craig

Ibstock plc (LSE:IBST) reported full-year 2025 results on Thursday that were broadly in line with expectations, though analysts cautioned that slower volume growth and near-term trading challenges could weigh on performance in 2026.

Shares in the UK building materials group dropped more than 5% during trading in London following the update.

The company had previously released preliminary figures for 2025 showing revenue of £372m and adjusted EBITDA of £71m, both broadly consistent with market forecasts. Adjusted earnings per share reached 5.7 pence, slightly ahead of the 5.6 pence analysts had anticipated.

However, cash flow generation and shareholder distributions were weaker than expected. Free cash flow was negative £17m, while the company declared a dividend of 3 pence per share, below the market expectation of 3.9 pence.

Analysts at RBC Capital Markets said the results pointed to a slower start to the year. “Current trading has been below expectations due to weather,” the analysts noted, adding that adverse conditions had weighed on demand early in 2026.

The brokerage also indicated that consensus forecasts for 2026 earnings may come under pressure as analysts revise down volume assumptions. Growth expectations are now likely to move closer to flat levels rather than the previously anticipated 2%–3% increase. As a result, consensus adjusted EBITDA could fall into the high £60m range, compared with current estimates of roughly £75m.

Even with these revised expectations, analysts warned that risks remain. RBC said another downgrade, a heavier second-half earnings weighting and energy cost exposure “is unlikely to be well received,” adding that the company’s outlook will depend heavily on a recovery in demand during the spring selling season.

Pricing conditions have remained relatively stable. Clay brick prices increased by about 2% to 3% following adjustments introduced in February, while the company has hedged approximately 80% of its energy requirements for 2026, with stronger coverage in place for the first three quarters of the year.

Net debt stood at around £120m at the end of the period, broadly unchanged compared with the previous year, supported by roughly £30m generated from asset disposals.

Babcock International Group plc (LSE:BAB) reported fiscal year 2025 earnings per share of 16.9 pence, exceeding the consensus forecast of 16.4 pence by about 3%.

The group generated revenue of £4.9bn for the year, in line with analyst expectations, with organic growth of 1%.

Adjusted EBITA reached £272m, slightly above the company’s guidance of £270m and ahead of the £267m consensus estimate. The adjusted EBITA margin came in at 5.6%, marginally higher than the 5.5% analysts had projected.

The earnings outperformance was driven by slightly stronger EBITA as well as lower net interest costs, which totalled £45m compared with guidance of £48m. The effective tax rate of 23% was consistent with the company’s expectations.

On a reported basis, EBITA was £246m, representing a 3% increase and showing a solid improvement compared with the prior year.

During the year, Babcock secured order intake of £5.5bn, up from £4.9bn in FY24, resulting in a book-to-bill ratio of 114%. The order book expanded 9% year on year to £14.5bn, with roughly two-thirds of contract awards linked to the defence sector.

Free cash flow totalled £219m, comfortably exceeding the analyst consensus of £153m. Adjusted net debt stood at £206m, below the consensus estimate of £232m, giving a leverage ratio of 0.7 times—beneath the company’s target range of 1 to 2 times.

The net debt figure reflects £245m spent on acquisitions, including the purchase of MT&S, as well as a newly announced £75m share buyback programme.

Looking ahead to fiscal year 2026, Babcock reaffirmed the outlook outlined in its December trading update. The company expects EBITA of around £300m, slightly above the consensus estimate of £291m. This would represent roughly 10% year-on-year growth and imply a margin of about 6% at the upper end of the group’s medium-term target range of 5% to 6%.

The outlook is supported by strong order intake during 2025, a full-year contribution from the MT&S acquisition and ongoing productivity improvements.

Revenue for FY26 is expected to reach approximately £5bn, with organic growth of around 3%. Tax rate guidance remains unchanged at roughly 25%, while free cash flow is forecast at about £160m, consistent with the company’s medium-term objectives.

Babcock also updated its year-end net debt forecast to £165m from £150m and increased projected net finance costs to £52m from £50m to account for the newly announced share buyback programme.

Aviva plc (LSE:AV.) reported a 25% increase in annual profit and announced the resumption of its share buyback programme, supported by higher insurance premiums, growth in its wealth division and the integration of rival Direct Line Insurance Group plc.

Operating profit for the 2025 financial year reached £2.2bn, up from £1.8bn the previous year and broadly in line with analyst forecasts compiled by the company.

The insurer, which provides car, home and life insurance across the UK, Ireland and Canada, also proposed a final dividend of 26.2 pence per share and announced a £350m share buyback. The repurchase programme resumes after being paused during the acquisition of Direct Line.

Within its core operations, general insurance premiums increased 18% to £14.1bn, while net inflows into the group’s wealth business rose 6% to £10.9bn.

Aviva reaffirmed the financial targets it set out in November, including plans to grow earnings per share by around 11% annually through to 2028. The company also expects to almost double the cost savings anticipated from combining its operations with Direct Line.

The insurer completed the £3.7bn acquisition of Direct Line last year, marking the largest takeover during the tenure of chief executive Amanda Blanc. The deal significantly expanded Aviva’s presence in the UK motor insurance market and is expected to generate substantial operational efficiencies in the coming years.

Foresight Solar Fund Limited (LSE:FSFL) reported a net asset value of 99.2 pence per share as of 31 December 2025, resulting in a NAV total return of -0.9% for the fourth quarter.

The quarterly performance was influenced by several negative factors, most notably the conclusion of a previously disclosed tax review, which reduced NAV by 5.4%.

Additional downward pressures included higher forecast capture price discounts, which lowered NAV by 1.9%, the effect of subsidy RPI/CPI rebasing at -1.7%, curtailment in Australia at -1.4%, and revisions to power price forecasts alongside other movements that together reduced NAV by 1.2%.

These declines were partly balanced by a number of positive developments. Extensions to asset lifetimes and lifecycle investments contributed 4.7%, while higher projected energy yields added 3.8%. The time value adjustment net of project actuals contributed 1.5%, commissioning of the Sandridge battery energy storage system added 0.4%, and share buybacks contributed 0.2%.

An independent portfolio review also resulted in a 2.8% increase in forecast annual production across the company’s UK assets. The group now assumes that most UK sites will operate for the shorter of either their planning permission expiry or a maximum lifespan of 40 years.

Across the global portfolio, total generation came in 1.3% below the base case scenario, mainly due to curtailment in Spain and Australia. However, electricity output from the UK portfolio exceeded expectations, finishing 3.4% above budget.

Dividend cover for the year stood at 1.3 times, while the company has utilised nearly £55m of its £60m share buyback programme.

As of 31 December 2025, the overall valuation of the UK portfolio was estimated at £0.97m per megawatt.

Elementis plc (LSE:ELM) reported full-year 2025 results on Thursday that came in ahead of analyst expectations, supported by improved margins despite a difficult trading environment. The company also announced the planned sale of its pharmaceutical manufacturing division to Associated British Foods plc.

For the year ended 31 December 2025, adjusted earnings per share reached 13.7 cents, surpassing analyst forecasts of 13.0 cents.

Revenue declined 1.9% on a constant currency basis to $597.5m, slightly below the $601m expected by analysts but compared with $603.8m recorded in 2024. Adjusted operating profit increased 4.6% in constant currency terms to $126.7m, broadly in line with consensus estimates of $126m, while adjusted operating margin improved by 150 basis points to 21.2%.

Within the business segments, Personal Care delivered revenue growth of 2.4% on a constant currency basis to $224.5m, with adjusted operating margin jumping 410 basis points to 32.4%. Meanwhile, the Coatings division saw revenue decline 4.3% on a constant currency basis to $373.0m due to softer demand, though adjusted operating margin remained relatively strong at 18.9%, compared with 20.3% the previous year.

Elementis also confirmed it has agreed to sell its pharmaceutical manufacturing unit to Associated British Foods for an enterprise value of about €34m ($40m). The deal is expected to complete in the second quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approval, and is intended to allow the company to concentrate on its core Personal Care and Coatings markets.

The group said it plans to return the net proceeds from the transaction to shareholders once the sale is finalised.

“I am pleased we have delivered a resilient performance with strong growth in profitability and margins despite the challenging market environment,” said Luc van Ravenstein. “We are pleased to have reached another important milestone for Elementis with the agreement to sell our pharmaceutical manufacturing business.”

The board proposed a final dividend of 3.0 cents per share, bringing the full-year dividend to 4.3 cents—an increase of 7.5% compared with 4.0 cents in 2024. During the year, the company also completed a £40.0m ($53.8m) share buyback programme.

Net debt rose to $185.4m from $157.2m the previous year, with the net debt-to-EBITDA ratio standing at 1.3 times. Elementis reported delivering $18m in cost savings during 2025 and said it remains on track to achieve the remaining $4m in savings during 2026.

PageGroup plc (LSE:PAGE) reported full-year 2025 results on Thursday broadly in line with its previous guidance, though earnings per share came in below analyst expectations as a higher effective tax rate weighed on the outcome amid ongoing uncertainty in recruitment markets.

For the year ended 31 December 2025, the company generated gross profit of £769.5m, representing a 7.6% decline in constant currency compared with £842.6m recorded in 2024. Revenue also fell 7.4% year over year to £1,596.6m.

Operating profit dropped sharply to £20.9m, down 58.8% from the previous year and in line with earlier guidance. This equated to a conversion rate of 2.7%, compared with 6.2% in 2024. The results included roughly £15m in one-off restructuring costs, partly offset by £5m in savings.

Basic earnings per share decreased 68.1% to 2.9p from 9.1p the previous year, landing around 21% below market consensus. The shortfall was mainly attributed to a higher effective tax rate of 44.4%, compared with 42.1% in 2024.

The board proposed a final dividend of 3.21p per share, significantly lower than the 11.75p distributed the year before. This brings the total dividend for the year to 8.57p per share, marking a 50% reduction from 2024.

“The Group produced a resilient performance despite continued market uncertainty,” said Nicholas Kirk. “We saw variable market conditions across the regions, with ongoing challenging conditions in Continental Europe and the UK. However, we continued to grow in the US, and we saw improved conditions in Asia Pacific, particularly during the second half of the year.”

The number of fee earners employed by the group declined by 402 during the year, a reduction of 7.5%, leaving a total of 4,968. Despite the lower headcount, gross profit per fee earner remained strong at £148.9k, up 0.3% in constant currency.

PageGroup said its cost optimisation programme remains on course to deliver annualised savings of about £15m starting in 2026.

At the end of the year, the company reported net cash of £31.4m, down from £95.3m a year earlier, reflecting dividend payments totalling £53.6m during 2025.

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) saw its sales in the United Kingdom drop significantly in February, declining 45.2% year over year to 2,208 vehicles, according to figures released Wednesday by New Automotive.

Meanwhile, Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD Company Limited (USOTC:BYDDY) recorded strong growth, with sales rising 40.9% to 968 vehicles over the same period. Despite the surge, Tesla maintained its position as the leading brand in the UK electric vehicle market.

New Automotive noted that Tesla’s delivery volumes often fluctuate from month to month. However, cumulative sales for the year to date are currently down around 5%, a trend the group said is likely to draw increased market scrutiny.

The data also highlighted continued momentum in the UK’s electric vehicle transition. Battery electric vehicles accounted for roughly one quarter of total car sales in February, while approximately one-third of newly registered vehicles were plug-in models.

“It’s fantastic to see one in four drivers opting for an electric car in February,” said Ben Nelmes. “As we enter yet another fossil fuel price crisis, every electric vehicle represents another step towards energy independence.”

Helium One Global Limited (LSE:HE1) reported that integrated operations have begun at the Pinon Canyon Plant within the Galactica project in Colorado, marking an important operational milestone for the helium development.

The facility is operated by Blue Star Helium, which manages the project in which Helium One holds a 50% working interest. The plant’s amine unit is now actively removing carbon dioxide from the gas stream and supplying helium-enriched gas to the Helium Recovery Unit. Refined helium is being collected in an on-site tube trailer for sale into the spot market.

The operator is currently fine-tuning plant settings, including operating pressures and flow rates, to optimise helium recovery as production ramps up. Several wells—such as State-9 and State-16, along with key wells from the Jackson field—are already producing or connected to the system. Additional wells are progressing toward production, including Jackson-27, which is planned to align with future CO₂ sales, while Jackson-2 is expected to come online once compression equipment is installed.

Work also continues on carbon dioxide processing infrastructure, with CO₂ liquefaction from the amine unit scheduled for completion before the end of the first half of 2026. Once plant optimisation progresses, the focus will shift toward enhancing well performance, improving the gathering system and planning further drilling. These steps are intended to support the project’s evolution into a larger commercial producer of both helium and CO₂.

Despite the operational progress, the company’s overall outlook remains constrained by weak financial performance, including limited revenue generation, continued losses and ongoing cash burn, although the balance sheet carries no debt. Technical indicators provide some support due to strong share price momentum, though overbought signals suggest caution. Valuation remains challenging given the company’s loss-making position and lack of dividend income.

More about Helium One Global Limited

Helium One Global Limited is a helium exploration and development company with projects in Tanzania and the United States. Its flagship asset is the Rukwa project in south-west Tanzania, where drilling confirmed a helium discovery at the Itumbula West-1 well during the 2023–24 campaign. An extended well test in 2024 produced helium concentrations of 5.5%, and the company secured a 480km² mining licence from the Tanzania Mining Commission in July 2025, supporting future commercialisation plans.

In the United States, Helium One holds a 50% interest in the Galactica-Pegasus helium development in Colorado. Operated by Blue Star Helium, the project completed a six-well drilling programme in 2025, encountering helium concentrations of up to 3.3% alongside carbon dioxide in the Lyons Formation. Initial production began in late 2025, with additional wells expected to come online through 2026 as the project scales up.