BUSINESS LIVE: Retail sales growth disappoints; BP’s profits exceeded forecasts; Virgin Money UK is struggling with a mortgage dip

The British arm of electric car company Arrival has gone bankrupt, putting almost 200 jobs at risk.

Administrators at audit group EY said they plan to sell the operations and assets of the two British units.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor:

‘The more immediate outlook for next quarter and even for the year as a whole indicates that upstream production is likely to improve, but lower refining margins in the industry may persist, albeit at a slower pace.

“The group remains committed to capital expenditure to finance the transition, with expenditures of $16 billion per year continuing through at least 2024 and 2025.

‘Meanwhile, the industry as a whole is under increasing pressure to transition from traditional fossil fuels to cleaner substitute energies, and this tends to weigh on the sector, not least in terms of historical valuations.

“With the transition to renewables still not proving consistently profitable or practical for many technologies, there are still many challenges to overcome.”

Virgin Money UK’s mortgage business faltered in the first quarter due to intense competition and weak demand, but the British challenger bank still met financial targets during the period.

The company also stuck to its full-year net interest margin forecast of 1.9 percent to 1.95 percent.

“We are encouraged by the resilience of our customers and the improving sentiment in the mortgage market as interest rates have peaked,” CEO David Duffy said in a statement.

BP’s first-quarter profit beat expectations by $3 billion, thanks to strong gas trading, as the energy company steps up the pace of share buybacks.

The quarterly results lifted the energy giant’s 2023 profit to $13.8 billion, down 50 percent from a year earlier, as oil and gas prices cooled and profit margins at refineries weakened.

The strong quarterly profit will come as a relief to CEO Murray Auchincloss after the company significantly missed forecasts in the previous two quarters.

BP maintained its dividend at 7.27 cents per share and increased the pace of its share buyback program from $1.5 billion in the previous three months to $1.75 billion in the next three months.

The company said it had committed to buying back $3.5 billion of shares in the first half of 2024.

Rivals Exxon Mobil, Chevron and Shell beat profit expectations last week on a mix of strong trading results and higher oil and gas production, while refining margins weighed on the sector amid sluggish global economic activity.

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has agreed to settle a wrongful dismissal case brought by former boss Tony Danker.

The business organization dismissed Danker as director general last April after complaints about his conduct.

The terms of the payout were not disclosed, but are the latest embarrassment for the crisis-plagued organization.

British retailers reported sales growth of 1.2 percent in January, representing a decline in purchases due to inflation, down from 1.7 percent in December as Britons remain cautious about their spending, according to reports. according to data from the British Retail Consortium.

“It may be a new year, but the hangover from low consumer confidence remains,” said Linda Ellett, head of consumer markets, leisure and retail in the UK at KPMG.

Ellett said poor weather conditions last month, including two storms, kept shoppers from going to stores.

British consumers have been hit by high inflation and borrowing costs, which could push the economy into a shallow recession in the second half of 2023.

But the Bank of England hinted last week that rate cuts could be on the horizon as price growth slows