Energy services provider Hunting narrowed its losses during the course of 2017, causing shares to rise over 3 percent on Wednesday morning. The group reported a loss of $25.4 million for the year to the end of December, a narrower loss than the $170.7 million loss seen in 2016, after a strong performance by its logging arm Hunting Titan. The division reported units of production above those of levels seen in 2014, alongside strong sales of its H-1 perforating system were solid. Revenue rose to $722.9 million from $455.8 million the year before, with the group reported an underlying profit before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of $55.4 million against a loss of $48.9 million in 2016. Jim Johnson, Hunting Chief Executive, said the Group’s results were “supported by an exceptional performance by Hunting Titan, leading to Hunting reporting a return to underlying profit for the year as a whole.” “Onshore drilling and completion activity in the US shale basins has led the strong recovery for those businesses within Hunting focused on this market. Elsewhere across the Group, cost cutting initiatives and general market stability have helped narrow losses. “We are pleased to have completed the process of exiting our suspension period bank covenants. While the Company is not proposing a dividend in respect of the 2017 financial year, shareholder distributions will be considered, subject to the Group’s current performance being sustained.” Shares in Hunting (LON:HTG) are currently up 3.62 percent at 630.50 (0953GMT).

Asset manager Schroders beat market forecasts during 2017, with underlying organic growth driving profits. The group reported a 23 percent increase in profit before tax to £760.2 million for the year just gone, attributing the improvement to an improvement in organic growth and “selective acquisitions combined with rigorous cost discipline.” Net operating revenue increased by 17 percent to £2,010.2 million, and net income before exceptional items rose by 15 percent to £2,068.9 million. These revenue figures produced a pretax profit in the year of £760.2 million, beating analysts’ mean consensus forecast of £728.5 million. The figures were also aided by a weakness in sterling in the first half of the year, contributed positively to profit before tax and exceptional items by around £27 million. Peter Harrison, group chief executive, said: “Schroders has again delivered strong results in 2017”. “Underlying organic growth and selective acquisitions combined with rigorous cost discipline led to a 24 percent increase in pre-exceptional profit. Assets under management and administration rose to a new high of £447 billion. “There are headwinds facing the industry but we continue to believe that there remain opportunities for growth. Our diversified business model, ongoing focus on costs, strong financial position and willingness to invest mean that we continue to be well placed.”

Carpetright (LON:CPR) shares plunged nearly 30 percent on Wednesday morning, after the company issued its second profit warning in a year. The group said it was in talks with its banks, after trading conditions in the first few months of 2017 “remained difficult” due to “continued weak consumer confidence”. In a statement, the home furnishings retailer warned it expected to make a loss in the year to April, amid weak conditions in its key UK market. In January the group said its full-year profits would be between £2 million and £4 million, down from previous expectations of £14 million. “UK like-for-like sales remain below management expectations and the Group now expects to report a small underlying pre-tax loss for the year ending 28 April 2018,” the company said in a trading statement. Shares in Carpetright (LON:CPR) are currently trading down 27.46 percent at 56.44 (0849GMT).

Bovis Homes (LON:BVS) shares rose in early morning trading on Thursday, despite reporting a fall in both completions and pre-tax profits. Pre-tax profits sunk to £114 million in 2017, down 26 percent from the previous year, accompanied by an 8 percent slowdown in the number of completions. Building costs rose over the year by 9 percent per square foot, reflecting higher value site locations and the inflationary impact of labour and materials of around 4 percent. However the average selling price of a home rose 7 percent to hit £272,400, with the group reporting a dividend for the full year totalling 47.5p, an increase of 6 percent on last year.. Greg Fitzgerald, Chief Executive said he was “very pleased with the level of operational progress the Group has made during the year. We have significantly improved our customer satisfaction through a series of initiatives and controlled period ends. “The Group fundamentals are strong, and with the business turning around I am excited about future years. In 2018, we will deliver a controlled increase in volume, continue to build upon our high level of customer service, drive profitability, and complete our balance sheet optimisation.” Shares in Bovis Homes are currently trading up 2.81 percent at1080.00 (0840GMT).

Informa (LON:INF) shares rose 1.2 percent on Wednesday morning, after improvements in both revenue and operating profit during the course of 2017. Revenue rose 30.7 percent to £1,757.6 million in 2017, helped by a strong return from acquisitions and favourable currency movements. Statutory operating profit rose to £345.3 million, with adjusted operating profit up 31.3 percent to £545.5 million. Adjusted diluted earnings per share grew 9.5% to 46.1p from 42.1p. The company said the integration of Penton Information Services was delivered ahead of plan and was set to deliver at least $18.5m (£14m) net cost synergies and revenue benefits in 2018. The final dividend of 20.45p for 2017 was up 6% on 305.7p in 2016. Stephen Carter, group chief executive, said: “2017 was a year of performance and delivery, with all four divisions in growth, the integration of Penton Information Services achieved ahead of plan and our four-year acceleration programme delivered on budget and on schedule.” He added: “Our investments over the last four years have helped build operational capability for continued growth and scale in 2018 and beyond.” The results come just ahead of a proposed merger with exhibition giant UBM, with the strong figures likely leading to a consensus upgrade, especially taken alongside the expected improvement in UBM’s recent events performance. Informa shares are currently trading up 1.20 percent at 694.20 (1040GMT).

Estate agent Foxtons was hit badly by the slowdown in the London housing market over the course of 2017, reporting a 65 percent drop in profit for the period. Changes to stamp duty weighed heavily on the market’s performance in 2017, causing revenues at Foxtons, who benefitted strongly from London’s property boom, saw revenues fall 11 percent over the year. Profits before tax fell 65 percent to £6.5 million, with revenue from lettings also down 3 percent to £66.3 million. The company confirmed that it expected trading conditions to “remain challenging in 2018”, warning that the London housing market was heading for historic lows. The group also said that its current sales pipeline is below where it was this time last year. The company declared a full year dividend for 2017 of 0.7p, down 65 percent from 2016. Shares in Foxtons (LON:FOXT) slumped 1.56 percent on the news to hit 82.00 (0851GMT).

ITV (LON:ITV) earnings fell over the course of 2017, after weakness in demand from advertisers weighed heavily on profits. Underlying earnings for the year to December 2017 fell 5 percent to £842 million, with net advertising revenue dropping to £1.6 billion from £1.7 billion the year before. Overall the group’s total revenue rose 4 percent to £3.66 billion as online advertising partially offset a weakness in demand for TV advertising. Total revenue, encompassing both online and broadcast, fell 3 percent but online, pay and interactive revenue rose 7 percent to £248 million, driven by strong online performance. ITV Studios, reported a 13 percent rise in revenue to £1.5 billion from £1.4 billion. Carolyn McCall, ITV’s Chief Executive, said: “There is no doubt that ITV’s operational performance in 2017 in a challenging environment was strong. “ITV delivered a great viewing performance on-screen and online and double-digit revenue growth in video on demand advertising and ITV Studios. This gives us a solid foundation to build on for the next phase of ITV’s development. “Reflecting our confidence in the business, and the outlook for 2018, the Board is proposing a full year dividend of 7.8p, up 8 percent”. Shares in ITV fell on the news, and are currently trading down 6.90 percent at 161.25 (0838GMT).

Admiral Group (LON:ADM) saw shares rise over 5 percent at market open on Wednesday, after profits rose 45 percent over the course of 2017. Pre-tax profits hit £403.5 million in the twelve months to the end of December, with both earnings per share and return on equity increasing by 49 percent and 55 percent respectively. The insurance group’s car business rose by 8 percent to £3.96 million, with turnover up 15 percent to £2.96 billion and customer numbers up 11 percent to over 5.7 million. However the group warned on the year ahead, saying that despite the strong performance in the division in 2017 “there is still a backdrop of uncertainty in our [UK car business] due to the continued deliberations over the Ogden rate affecting large personal injury claims.” David Stevens, Group Chief Executive Officer, said: ‘It’s 25 years since the launch of Admiral. 2016 was only the second year we’d ever reported a year on year fall in profits. So it’s great to be back in the groove, with a 23rd year of “record profits”.’ Shares in Admiral are currently up 5.85 percent at 2,044.00 (0822GMT).