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Fresnillo FY profits soar, Intertek reports 'record' FY performance
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Tuesday 03 Mar 2026
(Sharecast News) - LONDON PRE-OPEN
The FTSE 100 was expected to open 80.9 points lower ahead of the bell on Tuesday, after wrapping up the previous session 1.20% weaker at 10,780.11.
STOCKS TO WATCH
Testing and inspection specialist Intertek Group forecast further earnings growth on Tuesday, following a jump in annual sales and profits. Intertek said revenues in the year ended 31 December rose 1.1%, or 4.3% on a constant currency basis, at £3.43bn, with like-for-like growth of 3.9%. Diluted earnings per share surged 10.1% on the same basis, at 253.5p, or by 5.4% at actual rates. Chief executive Andre Lacroix called it a "record" performance, and forecast further progress in the current year, including single-digit underlying revenue growth and "strong" earnings growth.
Fresnillo reported soaring full-year profits on the back of higher gold and silver prices, but cut its production outlook for 2026. Pre-tax earnings for the 12 months ended 31 December rose 179% to $2bn, even as silver production fell 13% to 48.7m ounces and gold output was down 5% to 600,287 ounces. Fresnillo forecast attributable silver production in a range of 42.0 to 46.5m ounces and gold production expected of 500,000 to 550,000 ounces.
Engineering firm Smiths Group has agreed to acquire US-based custom heat transfer and cooling solutions designer DRC Heat Transfer for £164m. Smiths said on Tuesday that DRC will be integrated into its Flex-Tek unit's industrial heat business, enabling it to serve "a wider customer group" in fast-growing end markets with DRC products and solutions.
NEWSPAPER ROUND-UP
The AI model Claude has surged in popularity after being blacklisted by the Pentagon last week over ethics concerns. Claude climbed to the number one spot on Apple's chart of top free apps on Saturday in the US - dethroning OpenAI's ChatGPT, just one day after the Pentagon tapped OpenAI to supply AI to classified military networks. The bot's app climbed the iPhone app charts in the UK but did not beat out ChatGPT. Claude also raced up the Android charts in the US and UK, though ChatGPT reigned supreme, according to data from Sensor Tower. - Guardian
The UK and Irish assets of BrewDog, the Scottish self-styled "punk" brewer, have been sold to the US cannabis and drinks firm Tilray for £33m, in a deal that will cost nearly 500 jobs and leave legions of the company's early-stage crowdfunders empty-handed. Tilray agreed a deal to buy BrewDog's brand, intellectual property, UK brewing operations and 11 "strategic" bars in the UK and Ireland, the two companies confirmed, preserving 733 jobs. The remaining 38 bars will close immediately, at a cost of 484 jobs. - Guardian
Rachel Reeves is poised to backtrack on another manifesto pledge to raise young people's pay as her economic watchdog warns of rising joblessness and a sluggish economy. The Chancellor is expected to water down a promise to abolish what the Government has previously described as "discriminatory age bands" by scrapping the youth rate of the minimum wage, which has existed since the system was introduced in 1999. - Telegraph
Household energy bills could surge to £2,500 a year if the Iran conflict causes prolonged disruption to global gas supplies, analysts have warned. Wholesale gas prices in Britain have already jumped by as much as 50% on fears of a drop in liquefied natural gas shipments from the Middle East after QatarEnergy ceased LNG production following military attacks on its facilities. - The Times
US CLOSE
Major indices rebounded off their lows but still finished mixed on Monday, as the escalating conflict in the Middle East limited upside on Wall Street as oil prices surged to eight-month highs.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.15% at 48,904.78, while the S&P 500 ticked up 0.04% to 6,881.62 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.36% firmer at 22,748.86.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
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