Good morning: Public sector borrowing data released this morning may give the chancellor pause for thought as he puts the finishing touches to tomorrow’s spring statement.
The government borrowed a larger-than-expected £13.1 billion in February, the second-highest February borrowing since monthly records began in 1993, according to data released by the Office for National Statistics. City analysts had forecast borrowing of £8.1 billion
Capital Economics described the data as “unwelcome news for the chancellor” in a note to clients.
Nevertheless, borrowing between April and February is now £25.9 billion lower than the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) expected in October. Capital Economics forecast that borrowing could come in at about £157 billion in 2021-22, rather than the OBR’s forecast of £183 billion.
Oil prices are on the rise again as talk of a EU oil embargo on Russia and attacks on Saudi facilities sent jitters through the market.
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A short while ago Brent crude was trading at $118.27 a barrel, up by 2.4 per cent over the session. At the start of the year it was trading at $77 a barrel and it was below $100 a barrel before the invasion of Ukraine.
Is the pandemic-fuelled DIY boom running out of steam? B&Q owner Kingfisher insists not, reporting an “encouraging start” to the year alongside full-year results with “resilient demand”.
The actual numbers show that pre-tax profit rose by 33 per cent to top £1 billion in the 12 months to the end of January. Revenue across the group, which also owns Castorama and Brico Dépôt in France, rose by 6.8 per cent to £13.18 billion over the period. Kingfisher is only the third British retailer to post profits above £1 billion, joining Tesco and M&S.
Thierry Garnier, chief executive, said: “B&Q had an outstanding year, with sales passing £4 billion. It was also a record year of expansion for Screwfix, with 70 new stores opened in the UK and Ireland.”
Elsewhere on the corporate front this morning:
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OXFORD NANOPORE: Losses at the gene-sequencing group widened to £167.6 million in the 12 months to the end of December, from £61.2 million in 2020. Revenue over the period rose to £133.7 million, up from £113.9 million.
The company reported a substantial increase in the utilisation of nanopore sequencing in life science research, with more than 1,400 new accounts added in 2021.
Shares in Oxford Nanopore soared more than 40 per cent on their debut in September. Having listed at 425p, they opened at 626p before closing at 615p on the first day of trading. They have since slipped back to close at 442p yesterday.
SOFTCAT: The computer and software reseller has reported a 13 per cent rise in pre-tax profits to £64.2 million in the six months to the end of January on revenue that rose by 34 per cent to £770.9 million. It said that geopolitical and macroeconomic volatility made it more difficult to forecast performance, but as a result of its strong first half it expected the full year to be ahead of estimates.
CREST NICHOLSON: The housebuilder said that market conditions had remained favourable since the start of its financial year and it continued to see good demand for its homes. It cautioned that input costs were likely to rise due to higher energy costs and disruption to the supply of raw materials due to the war in Ukraine, but said it was “currently managing to successfully offset cost increases through sales price inflation”.
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THG: The retail and technology group, formerly known as The Hut Group, has appointed Lord Allen of Kensington, the former chief executive of ITV, as non-executive chairman.
Others updating this morning include the polling firm YouGov and the digital security group Kape Technologies.
I’ll be on Times Radio just after 4.30pm today to talk through the day’s market action. Listen online, on DAB radio, your smart speaker or via the Times Radio app.
Please do keep sending your thoughts, observations (and corrections) to me at richard.fletcher@thetimes.co.uk and don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @fletcherr.
Richard
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