BUSINESS LIVE: Berkeley costs ease; Anglo American eyes positive outlook; Grafton hikes share buyback

Losses at South East Water have ballooned as interest payments on its debts soar.

In the latest setback for the embattled industry, its loss before tax widened to £18.1million from £12.7million in the six months to the end of September.

Higher interest payments on loans, some linked to inflation, pushed it further into the red.

Britain’s water firms are struggling with huge debts and face public outrage over sewage dumping and leaks.

Anthony Codling, managing director at RBC Capital Markets:

‘Berkeley Group is a cash cow that continues to deliver the goods, in our view. In a challenging market, Berkeley marches to the beat of a different drum to all the other UK Housebuilders.

‘Today it reiterated guidance for FY24 and FY25, but also extended guidance to FY26.

‘The, very, early Christmas present is that if it has not started to deploy capital into new investment opportunities by 30 April 2027 it will return 100% of profits after tax to shareholders.

‘When it comes to Berkeley, historically in a good market it makes money for shareholders, and in a bad market, it gives money back to shareholders.’

Paddy Power owner Flutter Entertainment is working towards an effective listing date of 29 January for its ordinary shares on the New York Stock Exchange and also plans to cancel its secondary listing in Dublin the same day.

Europe’s STOXX decided to remove Dublin-based Flutter from the EUROSTOXX index from 18 December, the company told investors on Friday, adding that its listing on the London Stock Exchange will not be affected by the US debut.

The date for New York listing was subject to the public filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said.

The online betting firm has been working on plans to list in the US since the start of the year.

Space X, the rocket business owned by Elon Musk, has been valued at £140billion in a major boost for the eccentric entrepreneur.

The company has started discussions about selling shares at around $95 each, according to reports.

This means Space X, which is known for making rockets and spacecraft, is one of the most valuable private companies in the world.

Building materials firm Grafton Group will expand its ongoing share buyback scheme by £50million.

The group, which also sells DIY products, will double the size of the payout to £100million.

It will also extend the length of the scheme beyond its previous expiry date of 31 January 2024 to 31 May.

The boss of mining giant Anglo American has said the outlook for the sector has ‘rarely looked better’, despite the firm unveiling cost-cutting measures and reducing its production forecast.

Duncan Wanblad, chief executive of Anglo American, said: ‘The prospects for mined products have rarely looked better.

‘In the near term, given continuing elevated macro volatility, we are being deliberate in reducing our costs and prioritising our capital to drive more profitable production on a sustainable basis. We are focused on what we can control – safety, operational discipline and capital allocation.

‘We are confident in our actions to sustain the competitiveness of our world class assets and deliver on our outstanding growth opportunities in the metals and minerals that are so critical now and for generations to come.’

Delivery service Evri has been crowned the most disliked parcel firm in Britain, with the highest proportion of dissatisfied customers, according to regulator Ofcom.

Nearly half of those who contacted Evri with an issue said they were unhappy with the complaints process, in a major survey conducted by the watchdog. Just one in four were satisfied with the system.

Berkeley Group is the latest homebuilder to highlight difficult trading conditions on Friday, as high mortgage costs continue to batter demand, but the firm said previously rampant cost inflation had now eased significantly.

The FTSE 100 builder posted an approximately 5 per cent rise in pre-tax profit to £298million for the six months ended 31 October.

Berkeley told investors: ‘Sales pricing is firm and above business plan levels, with build cost inflation across most trades at negligible levels.’

Boss Rob Perrins said: ‘In today’s environment, Berkeley will intensify its disciplined approach to operating cost control and work in progress investment, while continually looking to identify the best development solution on each of its sites for the benefit of all its stakeholders.

‘We are ready and able to deploy capital into new opportunities once the market and regulatory cycles inflect and returns can be earned commensurate with the level of upfront investment and operational risk we undertake.’