Centrica shares fell on Thursday morning as it reported results that were expected, while Mondi shares rose despite reducing its dividend amid a slump in pretax profit despite higher revenue.
The FTSE 100 index opened down 31.46 points, 0.3%, at 10,654.72. The FTSE 250 was down 47.38 points, 0.2%, at 23,639.06, and the AIM all-share was up 0.44 points, 0.1%, at 812.18.
The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.3% at 1,061.09, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.1% at 20,931.00, and the Cboe small companies was up 0.2% at 18,588.62.
Mondi led the FTSE 100, up 2.9%.
The packaging company chopped its final dividend to 4.92 euro cents in 2025, down sharply from 46.67 cents in 2024. It also reported a 29% slump in pretax profit to €269 million.
But revenue was €7.66 billion, up 3.2%, while underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation were down 4.7% to €1.00 billion, beating Jefferies’ forecast of €990 million.
Centrica led the laggers, down 7.4%.
The British Gas owner increased its final dividend to 3.67p from 3.0p, despite pretax profit falling to £112 million from £1.68 billion. Revenue decreased 2.1% to £19.49 billion from £19.91 billion, while the average achieved gas sales price at Spirit Energy fell 19% to 107 pence per therm in 2025 from 132p in 2024.
Meanwhile, adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation fell 39% to £1.42 billion in 2025, within the company-compiled consensus range of between £1.09 billion and £1.56 billion, from £2.31 billion in 2024. It was higher than the mean of the range of £1.33 billion.
Adjusted earnings per share were 11.2p in 2025, exactly in line with the mean of the company-compiled consensus range of 10.8p to 12.0p, and down 41% from 19.0p in 2024.
In European equities on Thursday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.5%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was down 0.3%.
The pound was quoted lower at $1.3513 early on Thursday in London, compared to $1.3548 at the equities close on Wednesday. The euro stood lower at $1.1803, against $1.1813. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JP¥154.77, higher compared to JP¥154.38.
In Asia on Thursday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was up 0.6%. Hong Kong and China markets are closed for New Year celebrations. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.9%.
In the US on Wednesday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.3%, the S&P 500 up 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.8%.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.10%, widening from 4.08%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 4.73%, widening from 4.69%.
Brent oil was quoted higher at $71.38 a barrel early in London on Thursday from $69.62 late Wednesday.
‘It‘s extremely hard to tell what’s next,’ Swissquote’s Ipek Ozkardeskaya said. ‘If Middle East tensions ease thanks to fruitful nuclear talks between the US and Iran, oil should give back its gains at current levels.
‘If, however, the threat of war rises - a scenario that would seriously shake the Middle East - we could see the price spike turn into a persistent medium-term positive trend. In that case, US crude could reasonably reach $80 per barrel.’
Gold was quoted higher at $5,020.63 an ounce against $5,002.90.
Still to come on Thursday’s economic calendar, the eurozone has current account and construction data.
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