BUSINESS LIVE: Raspberry Pi profits soar; AG Barr shakes off cocktail dip; Card Factory hit by wage inflation

Rupert Murdoch is moving closer to a takeover of Rightmove, although a higher bid may be needed to secure the deal.

Australian property company Rea Group, majority owned by media mogul News Corp, has made a third bid worth £6.1 billion on the property website.

One of Britain’s fastest growing drinks brands has made a profit for the first time, thanks to fans like Victoria Beckham who have driven annual sales to £35m.

Dash Water, which was founded in 2017 and uses fruit rejected by supermarkets to flavour its sparkling water without sugar, is expecting pre-tax profit of £74,900 in 2024.

Card Factory’s first-half profit fell after a national minimum wage increase pushed up staff costs and wet weather led to fewer store visitors.

The ticket seller said pre-tax profit fell 43 percent to £14 million in the six months to July, while labour costs in stores and warehouses rose by more than a quarter to £64.4 million.

Following the trading update, the company’s shares fell more than 16 percent to 119.6p on Tuesday morning.

Adam Vettese, market analyst at investment platform eToro, said: Some investors may seize the opportunity this morning to buy shares at a 20% discount, for less than the price of one of their greeting cards, if they think the company can turn the tide in the second half of the year.

When Duncan Wanblad launched the biggest reorganization in Anglo American’s 107-year history to fend off unwanted advances from Australian mining giant BHP, he set himself a tough challenge.

The challenge has grown by the day in the four months since the mining company’s CEO told shareholders he planned to sell the FTSE 100-listed company’s nickel, coal, De Beers diamond and platinum businesses within two years.

Shares in Marks & Spencer are set to rise to their highest level in almost nine years as the company continues to attract new customers, analysts say.

In another show of confidence in the High Street’s loyal customer base, UBS said in a report that the share price would rise to 435p over the next year.

Julie Palmer, partner at Begbies Traynor, comments on AG Barr’s findings:

The soft drinks giant has been refining its strategy for some time now to strengthen its leading position in a competitive market, and it’s paying off.

By expanding its portfolio from the iconic Irn Bru into more diverse areas, from oat milk to cocktails, AG Barr has laid the foundation for future growth, which will be further supported by expected production synergies.

The maker of Scotland’s favourite soft drink is clearly prepared to adapt to changing consumer trends, something that will stand it in good stead as the brand battles uncertain consumer confidence and continued cost pressures.

With the share price hitting a five-year high and a wealth of positive performance, it appears that new CEO Euan Sutherland has taken over at an opportune time.

Irn-Bru maker AG Barr has announced sales have risen over the past six months, thanks to strong demand for soft drinks despite “disappointing early summer weather”.

However, the Scottish company reported a decline in profits due to one-off costs related to the closure of Barr Direct’s delivery operations earlier this year and the integration of Boost, the energy drinks company it bought in 2022.

However, recently appointed chief executive Euan Sutherland said he was “pleased with the good results in the first half of the year”.

The company said total revenue rose 5.2 percent to £221.3 million in the six months to July 26.

This trend was driven by the soft drinks division, which achieved 7 percent revenue growth thanks to higher prices and increased customer sales.

The company said this came despite a slight decline in volumes in the UK soft drinks market, which was “partly due to disappointing weather at the start of the summer”.

The pound reached €1.20 against the euro last night for the first time in more than two years, as figures suggest Germany is heading for recession.

The pound rose by almost a cent against the eurozone, a level not seen since April 2022. Monthly business survey data shows a stark contrast between the UK and the eurozone.

Raspberry Pi profits rose in the first six months of the technology group’s financial year as a London-listed company, as strong demand for higher-margin products offset weaker sales volumes.

The group, which raised £178.9m on its FTSE 250 debut in June, said revenue rose 61 per cent to $144m in the six months to June 30.

As a result, adjusted earnings before negative impacts increased 55 percent year-on-year to $20.9 million.

‘The IPO was the turning point of the first half, with admission to trading just two weeks before the end of the period. The continued pleasant trading in the first half saw strong uptake of our latest flagship SBC, Raspberry Pi5, the launch of the Raspberry Pi AI Kit and the successful ramp-up to production of RP2350, our second generation microcontroller platform.

‘The higher than usual customer and channel inventory levels seen at the time of the IPO have continued to diminish and there is a growing sense that this will be concluded by the end of the year. We have an exceptional team, a world-class product supported by an exciting future roadmap and a loyal and engaged customer base that we can continue to grow. In the second half we have further product releases and a number of initiatives planned to further expand our involvement within our industrial and embedded market.’