It was perhaps something of an underwhelming set of full year numbers from Rio Tinto this morning after the miner noted flat earnings with a softer iron ore market being offset by some gains for copper. Whilst there was a healthy uptick in the dividend, the market was seemingly expecting more and has marked back the stock as a result. In early trade the Rio Tinto share price was down more than 3%, taking more than £4bn off the company’s valuation.
The global packaging company issued full year results this morning but despite citing underlying economic woes along with concerns over the lack of visibility as to when any improvement might be seen, the market welcomed the update. Critically the stock ticked higher despite news that the dividend would be realigned with a covered policy, resulting in a proposed 60% drop in the payout. The prospect of cost savings do however seem to be providing some solace and the Mondi share price was up 5% shortly after the open.
Warmer weather and falling gas prices created something of a perfect storm for British Gas owner Centrica in the release of their full year results this morning. Adjusted operating profits fell from £1.55bn to £814m, whilst net cash reserves also saw some significant paring back. There was some solace for shareholders with news of a 22% increase in the dividend, but further share buyback plans have also been put on ice as the company looks to preserve capital for longer term investment. The Centrica share price was down 8% approaching 9am.
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