Defence and aerospace business Cobham (LON:COB) has announced its plans to reinstate a progressive dividend, despite latest reports of a fall in profits. The british manufacturing company based in Dorset said that over the 12-month period to 31 December, underlying operating profits dropped to £196 million from £213.1 million a year prior. Revenue came in at £1.86 billion, but was impacted by divestments and “adverse” currency translation, the company said. Cobham has, however, outlined its intention to reinstate a progressive dividend, with full-year dividend expected to be 1.0p a share. It overall expectations for its 2019 progress remains unchanged. The FTSE 250 company is the third largest defence firm in the UK behind Rolls Royce (LON:RR) and BAE Systems (LON:BA). “We can see the benefits of our improvement actions starting to come through across most of the business, particularly so in Mission Systems. However, Advanced Electronic Solutions underperformed. We have strengthened its management, increased the focus on execution and formulated an overhead cost reduction plan,” Cobham Chief Executive Officer, David Lockwood, commented. “We have also set out a new capital allocation policy, which establishes a prudent approach to gearing and prioritises organic investment. We anticipate resuming dividend payments with our next interim results,” he continued. He said that the board’s expectation for progress this year remain unchanged, and continues “to believe that there are considerable opportunities to improve the performance of the Group over the medium term and our continuing focus on customers, culture, operational improvement, business simplification and cash will allow us to realise this potential.” In February, Cobham said it would take an additional £160 million profit hit following its settled dispute with the aircraft giant Boeing (NYSE:BA). The dispute over its delayed KC-46 refueling program comprised of £86 million relating to settlement of the dispute, and £74 million in additional costs to complete the contract. At 09:44 GMT Thursday, shares in Cobham plc (LON:COB) were trading at -2%.

Nationwide (LON:NBS) is set to take a £15 million stake in the fintech start-up founded by Antony Jenkins, the ex-Barclays boss. The announcement is set to be revealed later today by both parties, but was learnt in advance by Sky News. Last year the UK building society unveiled its £50 million fintech fund, which was set to be invested in promising financial technology start-ups. Nationwide said that the fintech fund is part of its plan to remain ahead of innovation in order to start ahead of its rivals on the high street and its growing digital competitors. The fund it not only to profit financial support to the selected fintech start-ups, but it also comes with direct product development support. “By investing in early stage startups, we can be at the forefront of helping develop innovative products and services that will benefit our members both now and in the future,” Nationwide deputy CEO Tony Prestedge commented. Today, it is set to announce its purchase of a minority shareholding in 10x Future Technologies, the fintech start-up founded by the former Barclays Chief Executive. It will be part of a larger funding round established by the start-up in order to raise capital and drive expansion. The start up was established by Antony Jenkins in 2016, who saw the opportunity to establish a technology business as high street banks struggled. Nationwide itself has 650 branches across the UK. The partnership intends to pave Nationwide’s way into small banking which is being significantly moulded by technology. Currently companies such as Monzo and Revolut are leading the way in UK fintech. The former is a mobile-only bank that operates through a mobile app and a prepaid payment card, whilst the latter of the two offers banking services including currency exchange and similarly operating with a prepaid card.

Insurers Aviva (OCTCMKTS:AVVIY) and Admiral (LON:ADM) have both warned of the impacts Brexit could have on their businesses. With three weeks to go until the official departure date, Aviva has warned that the uncertainty surrounding Brexit, and its unknown future impacts, on the British and European economy, has “muted” its near-term outlook. Additionally, the insurer said it would be difficult to sustain the same momentum of growth that it has seen in each of the past two years. Aviva’s warning comes amid a 2% rise in its 2018 adjusted operating profit to £3.1 billion, which was driven by a strong performance across its major market. Elsewhere in the sector, car insurance specialist Admiral also issued a Brexit-related warning, predicting the potential economic chaos that could arise if a “hard Brexit” is pursued. Admiral reported an 18% jump in pre tax profit to £479.3 million, but did say it was bracing itself for a potential Brexit-induced recession. “[The] group has performed a stress exercise for its Brexit assessment of the impact of a recession through 2019 on the UK insurance business,” Admiral said. Market volatility, free movement of people between the UK and EU, impacts on the import of car parts, capital position and future dividend payments were all flagged as potential risks of the departure from the EU. Both FTSE 100 insurers are not alone in expressing their fears surrounding Brexit uncertainty. Outside of the insurance industry, Aston Martin (LON:AML) became the latest company to outline its Brexit contingency plan. It said that it would reserve up to £30 million as part of its no-deal plan. Whilst Ford (LON:F) said in January that a hard Brexit could cost it up to £615 million in 2019 alone. As the nation braces itself for the UK’s departure from the EU, growing economic uncertainty looms. At 08:35 GMT Thursday, shares in Admiral Group plc (LON:ADM) were trading at -3.29%.

Paddy Power Betfair announced on Wednesday it is considering changing its name to Flutter Entertainment in a bid to “reflect the increased diversity of our brands and operations”. The betting firm announced the proposal in its preliminary annual results for 2018. According to the figures, revenue was up 7% to £1.9 billion on a year-to-year and 9% on a currency currency basis. Paddy Power Betfair said revenue was up 5% on online channels and 6% in Australian markets. However, pre-tax profits were down 11% to £219 million compared to £247 million a year ago. The company added that reported earnings per share were 6% lower, largely as a result of investment in the US.

Peter Jackson, Chief Executive, commented:

“I’m really pleased with the way that the Group performed in 2018 in what was a challenging year for the sector with regulatory and tax changes. Our collection of challenger brands are well positioned in their local markets.

Paddy Power has regained its mojo, taking share following product improvements and some of our “classic” marketing. Betfair, our unique combination of product that appeals to customers around the world, will be improved by our ongoing investments in languages and localisation.”

Introducing the intended name change, Jackson said: “With a growing portfolio of brands, we plan to rename the Group as Flutter Entertainment plc. There are no plans to use this historical name for consumers, and we will seek shareholders permission for the change at our forthcoming AGM.”

Paddy Power Betfair (LON:PPB) are currently +1.20% as of 13:00PM (GMT), as investors react to the announcement.

Just Eat (LON:JE) posted its full-year results for 2018 on Wednesday, returning to profit. The food delivery service reported profit before tax of £101.7 million, compared to a loss of £76 million in 2017. Revenue was up 43 per cent year on year to £779.5 million, however cashflow fell 6% to £157.3 million after it acquired rival Hungry House. Earnings per share climbed to 12.1p, up from a loss of 15.2p a year ago. Looking ahead, Just Eat it expects full-year revenue in 2019 to be in the range of £1 billion to £1.1 billion. The company’s interim chief executive Peter Duffy commented: “We are creating a leading hybrid offering founded on our unrivalled marketplace, combined with the targeted roll-out of delivery. This gives our growing customer base access to the greatest choice of restaurants and drives even more orders to our restaurant partners, ultimately strengthening the network effects of our business. “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.” Meanwhile, chairman Mike Evans said: “The strategy set out last year is working and already delivering strong results. Our experienced management team, led by Peter Duffy, is working to accelerate the implementation of that strategy. “Our leading hybrid marketplace gives Just Eat a real competitive advantage and we are pleased with the speed at which this is now being rolled out. The board’s search to identify Just Eat’s next permanent chief executive is underway and we will provide a further update when a decision has been taken.” Cat Rock Capital, which owns a 1.9% stake in the business, has been encouraging Just Eat to merge with a rival. Just Eat is also under pressure from rivals in the food delivery marketplace such as UberEats and Deliveroo. Shares in Just Eat are currently -0.74% as of 11:23AM (GMT).  

UK car sales recovered slightly in February, rising 1.4%, offering some respite to an ailing car industry facing a host of challenges. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said 81,969 new cars were registered in February, up 1.4% from a year earlier. Nevertheless, diesel car sales continued to plummet, with sales down by 14% to 24,284 vehicles. Meanwhile, petrol car sales rose by 8% to 53,164. However, the biggest growth in sales was for alternative fuel vehicles, up 34% to 4,521 in February, as consumers turn to more eco-friendly models. Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “It’s encouraging to see market growth in February, albeit marginal, especially for electrified models. Car makers have made huge commitments to bring to market an ever-increasing range of exciting zero and ultra low emission vehicles and give buyers greater choice.” According to an analysis fo the result by EY, a key worry for the UK car industry is that the uncertainty of Brexit may deter buyers. Earlier this year, Honda announced the closure of its Swindon plant in 2021, placing as many as 7,000 jobs under threat. One of the key reasons cited for the move was challenges in the car industry. Howard Archer, chief economic advisor to the EY ITEM Club, commented: “The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) reported that new UK car registrations rose 1.4% year-on-year in February to 81,969 vehicles, which was the first rise for six months. This followed a drop of 1.6% year-on-year in January, which had been the smallest drop since August. “Consequently, new car sales were down a modest 0.6% year-on-year over the first two months of 2019 at 242,982 vehicles.”  

Huntsworth reported its full-year results for 2018 on Tuesday, sending shares downwards during morning trading. The healthcare and communications firm said revenue rose 14%, and 1.4% on a like-for-like basis, totalling £225 million compared to £197 million a year before. Operating profit jumped 26% and 12% on a like-for-like basis to £33.2 million, up from 26.4 million in 2017. The firm said this represented a margin of 14.8%. Headline profit before tax was up 26% and 15% on a like-for-like basis, totalling £30.9 million and proving ahead of expectations. The company also proposed a final dividend up by 10% to 1.6p per share from 1.45p per share in 2017. Total dividend for the year of 2.3p is set to be per share. Paul Taaffe, CEO of Huntsworth, commented: “Huntsworth has had another year of strong progress, led by stronger growth in its Healthcare divisions. Our strategy to position ourselves as a leading healthcare services-focused business continues to gain traction and was further enhanced this year with the acquisitions of Giant, Navience and AboveNation in our Marketing division. We are well positioned for additional growth in 2019 and beyond.” Huntsworth is listed on the London Stock Exchange. It specialises in healthcare PR and communications. It operates from 62 offices in 29 countries. Shares in the firm (LON:HNT) are currently -3.13% as of 12:18PM.