Vistry shares rose on Wednesday after the house builder said they were on track to meet recently reduced profit guidance, providing hope that the worst of the cost miscalculation saga is behind them. 

Stripping out the impact of provisions for underestimating the costs at a number of their sites, Vistry had a fairly reasonable year. Completions are set to rise 7% to 17,200, and revenues are projected to increase 9% to £4.4bn.

However, the problems with Vistry haven’t been the sales; it’s been with the management of costs that investors will still have reservations about despite the upbeat assessment of sales and completion activities.

“After delivering three consecutive profit downgrades in the three months prior, Vistry has finally broken its streak of bad news. The trading update wraps up a truly disastrous 2024 for the group, where despite new home completions and revenue rising, profits have been on a downward spiral,” said Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“That’s largely down to the group’s strategy shift to a Partnerships-only model, where it teams up with local authorities and housing associations.”

“These partners foot most of the bill, freeing up Vistry to deploy its cash on more projects. That’s seen the group chase faster-than-average growth, but a series of managerial missteps and accounting issues that have led to profit downgrades have raised serious questions about the new structure and internal controls.”

The FTSE 100 made small gains on Tuesday as UK bond market volatility decreased and upbeat corporate earnings trumped negative ones, helping drive stocks higher.

London’s leading index was 0.1% at the time of writing as housebuilders rose and offset losses in BP and JD Sports. It wouldn’t be a surprise if gains turned to losses in the afternoon, with the bid ebbing as the session progressed.

“The FTSE 100 held firm despite headwinds from BP warning of lower production and weak refining markets and Reinet Investments selling an approximate 2% stake in cigarette-to-vaping group British American Tobacco,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

“The warning from BP sours the recent recovery in its share price after a prolonged weak spell. Concern about the global economy puts a cloud over oil demand this year and BP’s latest update continues its bad run for news, having suffered impairments and warned of weak refining margins last year.

“Investors often think BP and its peers are well-oiled machines, pumping out oil and gas with ease and doling out endless dividends and share buybacks. In reality, they operate in a high-risk environment with unpredictable earnings.”

BP shares slipped 2.4%.

Persimmon was the top riser after announcing a 7% increase in completions and rising average sales prices. Investors were evidently pleased that the strong performance led the board to guide profit before tax at the top end of the range for the full year as shares rose by over 5%.

“Persimmon’s 2024 trading round-up showed it’s sitting on solid ground, despite the group having faced its fair share of struggles in recent years,” said Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“From their peak, both volumes and operating margins have fallen much harder than the broader sector. But Persimmon looks to have turned a corner. New home completions and average selling prices both exceeded market expectations, up around 7% and 5% respectively last year, as buyer demand was consistently higher throughout 2024. That’s given the group a solid platform to build on over the rest of 2025.”

Persimmon, like many listed housebuilders, has experienced a slow rot in its share price over the past year, and today’s news has provided a catalyst for a bounce off key support around the 1,000p.

Taylor Wimpey and Barratt Redow rose in sympathy and helped carve out gains for the FTSE 100.

JD Sports fell 8% and was the FTSE 100’s biggest faller after further reducing their profit guidance amid challenging trading conditions.

“JD Shareholders have had a tough 12 months as it is, and unfortunately this morning’s update has added more fuel to the fire. The company has warned on profit, bringing the top end of guidance down by 100 million amid challenging and volatile conditions,” said Adam Vettese, market analyst at investment platform eToro.

“It’s seems the supermarkets were the exception rather than the rule when it comes to retail performance over this past Christmas, as JD struggled in November and December, dashing any hopes of saving an already poor year.”

Ocado has reported its strongest-ever Christmas trading period, capping off a successful fourth quarter that saw retail revenue surge by 17.5% to £715.8 million.

The company has had its critics, and these results should go a long way to temper their negativity.

The joint venture between Ocado Group and Marks & Spencer enjoyed robust growth in its active customer base, which expanded by 12.1% to reach 1.1 million customers.

The company’s strategic focus on offering unbeatable choice, unrivalled service and competitive pricing has paid off, with customers shopping more frequently throughout the key festive trading period. TV adverts explaining the reasonable value of Ocado’s service and price matching against Tesco has worked.

Average orders per week climbed significantly by 16.9% to 476,000, whilst maintaining stable basket sizes of around 44 items.

Ocado shares surged 10% in early trade.

During the festive season, Ocado’s comprehensive Christmas range proved particularly popular with shoppers. The M&S party food selection was a highlight, with items such as hot honey halloumi and pigs in blankets drawing considerable interest. The company also saw strong performance in its premium cheese offering, including selections from Paxton and Whitfield, whilst noting a growing trend in low and no-alcohol beverages over the Christmas period.

Ocado said the strong festive period is set to continue into FY2025 and will provide further guidance when full-year results are released in February.

Operational efficiency showed marked improvement, with the company’s Customer Fulfilment Centres (CFCs) exceeding their design capacity during the peak Christmas period. The newest facility in Luton achieved 269 units per hour, contributing to a network-wide efficiency increase of 15% compared to the previous year.

“2024 was a year of strong growth. In the fourth quarter, we accelerated sales again – reaching 500,000 orders per week for the first time, at the end of November,” said Hannah Gibson, Ocado Retail’s Chief Executive Officer.

“We’ve achieved this growth by being laser focused on customer service and delivering unbeatable choice, unrivalled service and reassuringly good value to the households and families that we serve. We’ve made a series of significant improvements  – including making sure customers can buy all their favourite M&S products, ensuring our service is near perfect, shifting our value perceptions as customers realise how much we’ve moved on price and helping new customers discover Ocado.

“As we enter the next phase of our strategy, we are excited about the future of online grocery and our role in shaping it. Priorities for this year are raising the bar again in our leading customer proposition, making further progress on improving profitability and transitioning the business onto new technology platforms.”