Majestic Corporation has announced strong financial performance for the period ending 31 December 2024. The urban miner’s gross revenue soared by 66.7%, surpassing expectations and underscoring the company’s intent as a global leader in e-waste recycling.

The sustainable circular economy solutions provider, which specialises in recycling precious and non-ferrous metals, has delivered another year of revenue growth driven by increased volumes of recycled e-waste.

Majestic specialises in recycling e-waste such as mobile phones, solar panels and chipboards.

Investors will also be pleased to see Majestic successfully establish itself as a key player in the UK’s sustainable circular economy by expanding its client base and enhancing its operational capabilities.

A trading statement released on Monday reveals that revenue from continuing operations climbed to USD$49 million, compared to USD$29.4 million in the previous financial year, representing a substantial 66.7% increase.

This impressive growth reflects the expansion of the company’s e-waste recycling operations. The volume of materials containing recyclable precious and non-ferrous metals increased significantly, rising by 43.3% to reach 43,000 tonnes, up from 30,000 tonnes in the previous year.

Operationally, Majestic’s continued expansion has necessitated the search for larger facilities within the UK, a process which is currently underway. The company announced the conditional acquisition of Wales-based Telecycle last year, which is currently undergoing due diligence and awaits final approval.

Looking ahead to 2025, Majestic reports that its strong performance has continued into the new financial year, with growth observed across all recycled material volumes within its core business.

Despite metal prices and transportation costs remaining key variables affecting revenue and profitability, Majestic believes that its robust relationships with customers and smelters position it favourably for continued positive growth.

“We are very pleased with the growth of Majestic over the past year. The hard work or our team has driven significant growth in our topline performance which in turn we anticipate to positively impact our bottom line,” said Peter Lai, CEO and Founder of Majestic Corporation.

“The growth of the Company has enabled access to wider markets and a greater array of participants in the recycling and circular economy further strengthening Majestic’s position as a key player in the industry”

The FTSE 100 was lower heading into the weekend as mining stocks and companies that rely on the UK for revenue weighed on the index.

London’s leading index was down 0.4% at the time of writing and was on the verge of erasing all of this week’s gains.

Mining companies had rallied earlier in the week on hopes of Chinese economic stimulus, but these hopes were dashed overnight by the decision by the Chinese central bank on hold interest rates.

Antofagasta, Rio Tinto and Glencore were among the top fallers, declining between 3.7% and 1.8%, as investors reduced positions in disappointment.

“The FTSE 100 fell after more selling on Wall Street overnight and weakness in Asia as the Bank of China kept rates unchanged. This put pressure on the mining space given heavy Chinese consumption of commodities,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

JD Sports was the top faller after Nike released another set of poor results that raised fears that JD Sports would feel the pinch given that a large proportion of the goods they sell are Nike.

“Among the fallers was JD Sports Fashion as the retailer reacted to weak results from Nike overnight,” Mould explains.

“The US sportswear giant warned the current quarter could see the company absorb a lot of pain as it looks to turn around its fortunes under new CEO Elliott Hill amid signs of slowing demand among American consumers. This overshadowed a better-than-feared showing in the three months to the end of February.”

UK-centric sectors, including banks and housebuilders, also dragged on the index following the Bank of England’s most recent assessment of the economy and news of a deterioration in the UK’s public finances.

“UK Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, was already in a super-tight spot in terms of the public finances and she’s now facing a further squeeze,” said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“UK government borrowing jumped above expectations in February, with spending on benefits and investment rising more sharply than forecast. ONS figures show public sector net borrowing came in at £10.7 billion in February, which is £4.2 billion higher than had been forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).

“It cements expectations that Rachel Reeves will go further in tightening the public purse by cutting expenditure in the years to come.’

Barclays slipped 3%, and NatWest gave up 0.7%. Lloyds shares fell 1.7%.

Housebuilders Persimmon, Barratt Redrow, and Taylor Wimpey were lower after the Bank of England showed little signs of cutting interest rates.

JD Wetherspoon shares sank on Friday after the pub chain warned increasing taxes would result in substantial cost increases.

The warning overshadowed the reintroduction of a 4p half-year dividend and a 4.8% increase in like-for-like sales and shares were down 9% at the time of writing.

Such are the pressures on JD Wetherspoon, shares are now trading at the lowest levels since 2023.

Today’s warning on rising taxes isn’t the first from JD Wetherspoon or, indeed, the wider industry. But it was the clearest illustration of how damaging the rise in national insurance and staff costs would impact the pub chain.

“Increases in national insurance and labour rates will result in company cost increases of approximately £60 million per annum, which amount to approximately £1,500 per pub, per week,” said Tim Martin, the Chairman of J D Wetherspoon.

There are some bright spots in the group’s update released on Friday, but such a sharp increase in costs poses a real threat to profits going forward. Mark Crouch, market analyst at Etoro, highlighted a pick up in recent trading and pointed to the importance of the upcoming summer trading period as national insurance rises.

“Investors might want to look at JD Wetherspoon’s half year earnings with a glass-half-full perspective, but that might be clutching at straws. After food and drink sales went flat at the tail end of last year, the UK pub operator continues to struggle with rising costs, hindering efforts to regain momentum from 2023,” said Mark Crouch.

“Although like-for-like sales have increased, higher labour costs and increased VAT rates for pubs are smothering the sector. The government’s decision to raise the national minimum wage may grab positive headlines, but the economic impact on businesses like JD Wetherspoon — and potential employees who may miss out as a result — is turning out to be anything but. 

“It wasn’t all bad news, Wetherspoon has reintroduced its interim dividend, which will be welcome news for shareholders. And as summer approaches, the arrival of warmer weather will be crucial to Wetherspoon turning their year around with punters more likely to venture out for a pint, hopefully adding a well needed boost for the pub chain.”

Tim Martin will be praying for a scorching summer this year.