GSK said it has entered into a collaboration agreement with Chinese pharmaceutical outfit Hengrui Pharma to jointly develop up to 12 medicines, providing new growth opportunities for the UK drugs giant beyond 2031. The agreement will see the FTSE 100-listed firm pay $500 million in upfront fees and focuses on treatments in respiratory, immunology and inflammation (RI&I), and oncology. GSK's chief scientific officer Tony Wood said the deal reflects the company’s strategic investment in programmes that “address validated targets, increasing the likelihood of success, and with the option to advance those assets with the greatest potential for patient impact”. GSK shares gained 1.4% in early morning trading.
Cranswick said in a first quarter trading statement that its financial year has started strongly, and it expects its annual results to be in line with market expectations. In the 13 weeks to June 28, the FTSE 250-listed food producer said its revenue rose by 9.7% year-on-year, or 7.9% on a like-for-like basis. The company noted that export revenue was strong, reflecting both volume growth and higher pricing following the reinstatement of its Norfolk fresh pork site's China export license in December 2024. It said poultry revenue grew strongly driven by the onboarding of new premium retail business at the Cooked and Prepared Poultry sites, together with strong demand from the Eye fresh poultry site's anchor retail customer. In early trading, Cranswick shares edged up 0.6%.
Computacenter said in a first half update that softer trading in Germany and France and increased investment means its half-year adjusted profit would be only slightly ahead of a year earlier. The IT support and services firm said it saw strong revenue growth in the half year, largely driven by growth in high-volume Technology Sourcing business, reflecting an excellent performance in North America and further strength in the UK, resulting in good growth in gross profit. However, the company highlighted softer trading in Germany and France during the second quarter driven by temporary lower levels of public sector activity following political changes, with the performance in France significantly weaker than last year. In early trading, Computacenter shares shed 2.1%.
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