UK-based DIY retailer Kingfisher reported their Q3 results on Wednesday, which show a major decline in sales across almost all countries where the retailer operates. 

Shares fell over 5% in early trade on Wednesday as the company blamed poor weather for the slow results.

“The problem seems to be unseasonably warm temperatures dampening demand for insulation and heating products. Blaming the weather never goes down well with the market,” said AJ Bell’s Russ Mould.

In Q3, sales amounted to £3.2 billion, with a total sales decrease of -2.1% (reported) and -2.7% (constant currency). 

Like-for-like (LFL) sales experienced a -3.9% decline, including a -0.4% calendar impact. However, the company said overall volumes are showing signs of improvement.

Furthermore, data shows that retail and trade consumer trends remained resilient in the UK. 

France was the major weak spot for Kingfisher with sales crumbling in Q3. In France, sales were down 8.7% at reported currency and 8.5% at constant currency rates.

According to the CEO Thierry Garnier,” In France, our performance was impacted by a weak retail market, as well as a delayed start to insulation, plumbing and heating sales – to which Brico Dépôt is more heavily weighted – due to unusually warm autumn weather, and strong prior year comparatives in these categories.”

Sales in Poland were up 2.9% at reported currency and 7.5% at constant currency.  

Garnier commented on this by saying that “In Poland we are seeing early signs of recovery in the trading trend, against an incrementally more positive consumer and economic backdrop.”

Thierry Garnier further added that, ““We continue to focus on our execution and driving our strategy forward. Our online marketplaces are growing rapidly, with B&Q’s marketplace reaching 35% of its e-commerce sales in October.”

Adding that, “Screwfix has continued its international expansion, by launching as a pure- play online retailer in six new European countries, and opening four new stores in France in the quarter. We also continue to harness AI and data to support sales, profit and cash, including by growing our retail media proposition across the Group.”

Californian tech giant Nvidia has reported astonishing revenue growth in Q3 as AI-inspired demand lifted sales. But it was not enough to lift shares, which fell on concerns about China demand tapering off.

In Q3, the tech company saw a record revenue of $18.12 billion. The revenue is up 34% from Q2. What’s more, it marks a 206% rise from a year ago.

Nvidia’s shares were slightly down (around 0.7%) in the premarket on Wednesday morning.

Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA, said that “our strong growth reflects the broad industry platform transition from general-purpose to accelerated computing and generative AI”.

He added that “large language model startups, consumer internet companies, and global cloud service providers were the first movers, and the next waves are starting to build. Nations and regional CSPs are investing in AI clouds to serve local demand; enterprise software companies are adding AI copilots and assistants to their platforms; and enterprises are creating custom AI to automate the world’s largest industries.”

Q3 Data Centre revenue also reached a historic high of $14.51 billion, marking 41% growth from Q2.

The data centre growth from the same time last year adds up to, once again, a record-breaking 279%.

According to Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown, “the growth in its market value since Chat GPT first arrived on the scene has been astonishing. The share price has trebled, and the company is now one of a handful worth over a trillion dollars. But the investment returns have very much been powered by even more impressive growth in the underlying business.”

The company further states that the expected revenue for the year 2024 is $20.00 billion (+/- 2%).

However, Russ Mould from AJ Bell warns that these successes might put too much pressure on the company: “The downside of being a superstar company is having to continuously smash expectations.”

He added that “US chipmaker Nvidia certainly beat market forecasts for its third quarter apart from a small miss on free cash flow. However, investors want nothing short of remarkable each time the company reports, and there wasn’t enough pzazz in the announcement to drive its shares higher, at least for now as the long-term outlook is still bullish from the company’s perspective.”

Software and solutions company Sage topped the FTSE 100 in early trade on Wednesday after announcing surging revenues and wider adoption of their services.

Sage shares were 7% higher at the time of writing.

Sage saw strong growth in recurring revenue, up 12% to £2.1 billion, driven by 25% growth in Sage Business Cloud to £1.6 billion. Total underlying revenue increased 10% to £2.2 billion. The company said they saw similar levels of revenue growth over the next year.

Underlying operating profit rose 18% to £456 million, with operating margin up 140 basis points to 20.9%, thanks to operating efficiencies. EBITDA also grew strongly, up 16% to £553 million, with EBITDA margin up 120 bps to 25.3%.

However, statutory operating profit declined 14% to £315 million. This reflects one-off gains on business disposals last year, as well as restructuring charges and M&A costs this year.

Underlying basic earnings per share was up 22% to 32.3 pence, demonstrating strong bottom-line growth.

“Sage performed well in FY23, delivering double-digit revenue growth, increased profitability and strong cash flows. We sustained good momentum throughout the year in all regions, driven by consistent strategic execution,” said Steve Hare, Chief Executive Officer.

“We continue to help small and mid-sized businesses succeed, providing them with the tools and expertise they need to simplify their accounting and HR processes, streamline their operations, and make more informed business decisions.  Through the Sage Network, we are delivering innovative, AI-powered services to customers, faster and more efficiently than ever before.

“Small and mid-sized businesses are continuing to digitalise, despite the macroeconomic uncertainty. We are building a resilient platform to deliver sustained, efficient growth, and I am confident that Sage is well positioned to take advantage of the market opportunity in 2024 and beyond.”

GreenRoc Mining shares sank to an all-time low on Wednesday after the Greenland-focused miner conducted a heavily discounted placing.

GreenRoc Mining has raised £460,786 through a placing of 18.4 million new shares at 2.5p per share. Participants in the placing included GreenRoc’s CEO, Chairman and an Independent Non-Executive Director.

Shares in the company were down 24% to 2.56p at the time of writing. GreenRoc shares traded as high as 4.5p in early November after the company’s float at 10p in 2021.

The proceeds will primarily be used to fund work related to GreenRoc’s Amitsoq graphite project in Greenland. This includes completing a feasibility study on building a processing plant to produce active anode material for electric vehicle batteries. The feasibility study is being supported by a £250,000 grant and is expected to finish in Q2 2024.

Additional proceeds will support the completion of environmental and social impact assessments for the Amitsoq project. These assessments will be delivered in 2024 and are required for GreenRoc to submit an application for an exploitation permit. A recent change in Greenland’s mining law allows companies to apply for this permit before submitting the final assessments, subject to their subsequent approval.

The funds will also be used for further commercial negotiations with potential partners, as well as general working capital needs.