Yahoo Finance What to Watch: Just Eat sales jump, collapse of cash and Paddy Power's name change
Here are the top business, market, and economic stories you should be watching today in the UK, Europe and abroad:
Just Eat sales jump
Online food firm Just Eat (JE.L) reported a 43% jump in annual revenue to £779.5m ($1.02bn), boosted by strong growth in the UK and Canada.
The firm saw underlying earnings grow 6% to £173.9m in the year to 31 December, while pre-tax profits came in at £101.7m. UK orders were up 17%, aided by the successful integration of HungryHouse.
Interim boss Peter Duffy said: “We have a clear plan for the year ahead as our highly experienced team works hard to accelerate the execution of our strategy and we remain focused on long-term returns for shareholders.”
Just Eat is facing pressure from one of its shareholders to pursue a merger with a rival in a bid to deliver value for shareholders and fill its vacant CEO position.
Cash on the verge of collapse
A new report released on Wednesday has warned that the UK’s cash system is “on the verge of collapse.”
The “Access to cash” review, funded by cash machine company Link, warns that businesses that handle and distribute cash will soon become unprofitable in the UK as digital payments rapidly rise.
The report calls for the government to step in and introduce a law that would require essential services such as supermarkets and energy to accept cash.
Paddy Power’s name change
Paddy Power Betfair (PPB.L) has unveiled plans for a name change as it posted an 11% fall in pre-tax profits to £219m ($288m) in 2018.
The betting giant asked shareholders at its annual general meeting in May to approve a name change to Flutter Entertainment to reflect its “increasing diversity.”
The group said the new £2 stake limit for controversial fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs), which comes into effect on 1 April, will not have a material impact on its sports-led retail strategy.
Peter Jackson, chief executive of Paddy Power, said: “Paddy Power has regained its mojo, taking share following product improvements and some of our ‘classic’ marketing.”
But he said it had been a “challenging year for the sector with regulatory and tax changes.”
Legal & General hits £1trn
Legal & General (LGEN.L) has become the UK’s first £1trn ($1.31trn) investment manager following a spate of infrastructure deals last year.
The group said alongside its annual results that a record £9bn of pension risk transfer deals, money pumped into UK infrastructure and cities and an increase in international assets helped it reach the landmark figure.
The FTSE 100 company saw operating profit rise 10% to £1.9bn in 2018. Net profit fell 3% to £1.83bn after the prior year was boosted by a one-off US tax benefit.
European markets
European stock markets were generally lower, after losses on Wall Street overnight and a mixed session in Asian markets.
Britain’s FTSE 100 (^FTSE) was flat, Germany’s DAX (^GDAXI) was down by 0.3%, France’s CAC 40 (^FCHI) was 0.1% lower, and the Euronext 100 (^N100) was down by 0.2%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 (^N225) closed down by 0.6%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index (^HSI) was up by 0.2%, and China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) was up by 1.5%.
What to expect in the US
US stock futures were pointing to a lower open. S&P 500 futures (ES=F) were down by 0.1%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) were down by 0.1% and Nasdaq futures (NQ=F) were down by 0.08%.
