ii view monthly round-up: April 2025

UK company shares generally lost ground during March, largely driven by Donald Trump’s much higher-than-expected trade tariffs. The FTSE All Share index lost 1.6%.  

Recruitment agency PageGroup (LSE:PAGE) offered no future profit forecast given the recent introduction of tariffs and resultant market uncertainty. The FTSE 250 company also flagged continued subdued levels of corporate client and candidate confidence. PageGroup shares fell 14% over the month. 

Global ad agency WPP (LSE:WPP) maintained full-year sales and profit expectations but pointed to expected next quarter challenges with potential growth second-half weighted. Although tariffs were not expected to directly impact WPP, management did flag concern about the potential hinderance which tariffs will likely cause many of its clients. WPP shares fell 4.4%. 

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Distribution company Bunzl (LSE:BNZL) issued a profit warning in April, leaving its shares down 23% over the month. The seller and distributor of non-food consumables such as paper towelling and cleaning products which other companies need to run their businesses, flagged challenges at its core North America business.  

A combination of sales weakness, particularly for foodservice and grocery customers, product price deflation and investment costs required under the rollout of its own higher profit margin branded products, all impacted business. The increased outlook uncertainty forced Bunzl to halt its share buyback programme to keep group net debt stable.  

Energy giant BP (LSE:BP.) today reaffirmed expected lower production for the first quarter of 2025 compared to the last quarter of 2024 given the recent sale of assets in Egypt and Trinidad. Its shares fell 16% over the month.

Similarly, rival Shell (LSE:SHEL) also lowered first-quarter production hopes. It flagged a combination of unplanned maintenance and cyclones impacting the company’s Australian operations. Shell shares fell 13% in April. The price of Brent crude oil retreated by a similar amount. 

On the upside, discount retailer B&M European Value Retail SA (LSE:BME) offered a more optimistic profit forecast. The FTSE 100 company outlined hopes that annual profit will be above the mid-point of management’s previous predicted range of £605 million to £625 million. That and a potential flood of cheap Chinese products redirected from the USA given new trade tariffs, helped its shares rise 26% in April. 

Homeware retailer Dunelm Group (LSE:DNLM) also issued a positive trading update. The FTSE 250 company detailed an acceleration in quarterly sales growth while maintaining hopes for a potential improvement in full-year profit. That, and the potential for redirected Chinese products, helped its shares gain 20% over the month. 

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Housebuilder Barratt Redrow (LSE:BTRW) flagged a near completion of its operational merger between Barratt and Redrow. Adjusted net private reservations per site for the third quarter to late March rose 1.6% year-over-year to 0.62 per week, with the FTSE 100 company on track to achieve its previously increased target of £100 million in merger cost savings. The group’s shares rose 7% in April. 

Looking overseas, US branded goods maker Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE:PG) cut sales and earnings forecasts given both a challenging consumer and geopolitical environment. The owner of brands including Ariel, Gillette and Oral-B now expects flat full-year sales to late June, down from a previous estimate of up to 4% growth. Shares in the Dow Jones company fell 5.5% in April. 

On the upside, earnings from global streamer Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) comfortably exceeded analysts' hopes. The provider of shows including ‘Squid Games’ and ‘The Perfect Couple’ detailed first-quarter earnings up by a quarter year-over-year to $6.61 per share. That beat estimates of $5.71 per share and helped leave its shares up 18% for April. Netflix continues to focus on growing revenues and profits, with the Nasdaq 100 company no longer offering regular customer subscription numbers. 

Google and YouTube owner Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ:GOOGL) also reported earnings that beat Wall Street forecasts. Adjusted earnings rose to $2.81 from last year’s $1.89 per share, helped by a continuing enhancement of services via Artificial Intelligence or AI. Analysts had a expected an outcome of $2.01 per share. 

Alphabet shares rose 4.7% in April. AI Overviews, Alphabet’s AI tool placed at the top of Google’s search results page, had achieved 1.5 billion users per month, up from one billion in October.