Bunzl shares were fairly steady on Monday after the FTSE 100 distribution and services group reported a dip in profits for 2025, delivered in line with revised expectations.

Revenue edged up 0.6% to £11.85 billion, or 3.0% at constant exchange rates, with acquisitions doing the heavy lifting. Organic growth was modest at 0.4% for the full year, though it picked up to 0.9% in the second half, a sign that management actions are starting to have an impact.

The firm said it is sticking with its guidance of a more stable outlook this year.

“After a couple of bruising years for the share price, Bunzl investors were handed a steadier, if hardly sparkling, set of results in the company’s latest update,” explained Mark Crouch, market analyst for eToro.

“Revenue rose 3 per cent at constant exchange rates, largely thanks to acquisitions, while underlying growth remained subdued, though the pick-up in the second half suggests trading conditions improved as the year progressed.”

But the main concern is margins. Adjusted operating profit fell 4.3% at constant currencies to £910.3 million, with the operating margin narrowing from 8.3% to 7.7%.

However, the trajectory improved as the year went on the second-half margin decline was just 0.3 percentage points, helped by a recovery in North America, stabilisation in Continental Europe, and genuine expansion in the UK & Ireland.

North America, Bunzl’s largest market, had been the leading drag. The company responded with leadership changes, a rebalancing of decision-making between head office and local teams, cost cuts, and a push into own-brand products. Own-brand penetration rose to 30% of revenue, up from 28%, while digital orders now account for 76% of all orders.

“I am pleased with how the Group has responded to what has proven to be a challenging year for Bunzl; our people have shown great agility to be able to deliver on the revised expectations we set out in April 2025,” said Frank van Zanten, Chief Executive Officer of Bunzl.

“Our 2026 guidance for a more stable profit outlook remains unchanged and provides a foundation from which to deliver long-term profitable growth.”

Semiconductor wafers manufacturer IQE (LON: IQE) is the subject of renewed speculation concerning a takeover offer, although no firm bidder has revealed its hand. The share price recovered 81.3% to 19p.

Anglesey Mining (LON: AYM) has completed a £4m debt settlement agreement with Energold. The only remaining debt is a £100,000 loan secured against a residential property near the Parys Mountain copper zinc gold project. The debt was settled by transferring the company’s other assets to Energold. The whole focus is Parys Mountain. Energold has invested £350,000 at 7.6p/share through exercising warrants. The share price jumped 61.1% to 7.25p.

Skin treatments developer SkinBioTherapeutics (LON: SBTX) shares rebounded 53.8% to 8p following the previous slump after the departure of the chief executive and accounting adjustments. An investigation is continuing.

Advanced coating provider Hardide (LON: HDD) continues to win new orders. A further £1.8m of orders have been placed by an existing North American customer. Profitability is better than expected, helped by operational gearing. Cavendish has increased its pre-tax profit forecast by two-thirds to £2.3m. The share price increased 46.2% to 38p, which is the highest it has been for more than four years.

Guardian Metal Resources (LON: GMET) has filed a registration statement for a flotation in the US. The Nevada-focused critical metals explorer will raise money through an American Depositary Shares (ADS) issue. The share price gained 38.4% to 281p.

FALLERS

Oil projects developer TomCo Energy (LON: TOM) raised £550,000 at 0.03p/share. CMC Markets has been appointed joint broker. Oil sands project developer Greenfield Energy is now jointly owned with Valkor, whose founder will join the TomCo Energy. Greenfield Energy’s loan facility provided by Valkor, currently $799,500 has been amended to extend the repayment date of the remaining loan to February 2027 after 50% is repaid in TomCo Energy shares at 0.1p each. The annual interest charge is 2.7%. The share price dived 43.6% to 0.031p.

RC Fornax (LON: RCFX) full year figures were in line with previously downgraded estimates. Revenues fell 37% to £4.1m, while the pre-tax loss was £1.4m. The defence contractor says activity has improved since the MoD review. This increases confidence in the 2025-26 forecast revenues of £5.8m and a loss of £2m. In November, cash was raised at 6p/share. The share price slipped 26.1% to 8.5p.

Star Energy (LON: STAR) says it has reduced annual costs by £2m, but 2025 net production of 1,886boe/day was below guidance of 2,000boe/day. Cash was £7.6m at the end of 2025. Capex is expected to be £6.3m n 2026. Management is seeking acquisitions that will help to use up tax losses. The share price declined 19.6% to 11.25p.

AFC Energy (LON: AFC) generated modest revenues in 2025 but made progress with deals that should be beneficial over the longer-term. The hydrogen technology developer had £25.3m in the bank at the end of 2025. More opportunities are expected to be converted this year, and fixed costs are running at less than £1m each month. Zeus estimates a potential DCF valuation of at least 27p/share. The share price dipped 18.9% to 12.04p.

A positive AGM statement from photonics company Gooch & Housego (LON: GHH) revealed a 18% increase in the order book to £168m. All divisions contributed, but aerospace and defence grew fastest. This suggests a stronger second half. Cavendish is maintaining its forecast for the time being, although it has added a 2026-27 forecast. This year a pre-tax profit of £16.2m is expected, rising to £19.3m next year. The share price gained 7.8% to 815p.

Blue Star Capital (LON: BLU) says there was a reduction of £347,000 in the value of investment in the year to September 2025. Because of cash raised during the year the NAV has risen from £937,000 to £2.87m. The stake in SatoshiPay was increased and is worth £1.53m. The share price increased 5.88% to 9p.

Armstrong Investments has acquired a 3.16% stake in Renalytix (LON: RENX). The share price rose 3.57% to 3.625p.

SRT Marine Systems (LON: SRT) has won a $20.5m follow-on contract with an unnamed sovereign customer. The share price improved 1.2% to 84p.

FALLERS

Last year, Karelian Diamond Resources (LON: KDR) used £114,000 of cash in operations and capitalised £107,000 of exploration spending. This was broadly covered by a fundraising during the year. Cash was £28,000 at the end of November 2025. A copper target has been identified in Northern Ireland. Diamond exploration continues in Finland, and the company is waiting for retail sentiment to improve. The share price fell by one-fifth to 0.4p.

Graphene technology developer Directa Plus (LON: DCTA) continues to discuss a non-dilutive €4m loan from major shareholder Nant Capital. Land held by Setcar may be sold for €500,000 and it is making annualised cost savings of €500,000. Corporate costs have been reduced by €150,000. Finance director Giorgio Bonfanti is leaving. The share price declined 5.56% to 12.75p.

Frontier Developments (LON: FDEV) founder David Braben has sold 15,000 shares at 401.61p. This is part of the video games developer’s share buyback. The share price dipped 2.87% to 397.75p.

Atome (LON: ATOM) says final investment decision for the $630m Villeta fertiliser project in Paraguay has been delayed until March. Management is in negotiations with potential funders and partners. A special purpose vehicle will be set up for the project. The share price slid 2.78% to 52.5p.

Senior shares soared on Friday after the company announced it is in discussions with multiple potential buyers following a series of all-cash takeover proposals.

Shares were 18% at the time of writing.

The engineering group first received a preliminary bid in January 2026, which the board unanimously rejected as fundamentally undervaluing the company. Two further offers from the same party followed in February, both also rejected.

The board subsequently appointed Lazard and Jefferies to approach other parties, resulting in two additional, superior all-cash proposals from separate bidders. Discussions remain ongoing.

Senior shares have performed well throughout 2025, making a potential deal all the more interesting because the company doesn’t trade at the low valuation typical of other recent takeover deals.

Indeed, Senior shares could be considered very fairly valued, if not slightly expensive. But the group is operating in an attractive area with contracts in the defence and aerospace sectors that are enjoying strong growth.

In light of the talks, Senior has postponed its planned £40 million share buyback programme, which had been due to start following publication of full-year results.

Reading through full-year results, one has to wonder why the market has been so concerned about the impact of AI on Rightmove. It almost seems a little unfair.

Rightmove remains the UK’s number 1 property portal and is producing steady revenue and profit growth amid the launch of new AI-powered services as part of a wider strategic push to open up more revenue channels.

The UK property market remains slow, so for Rightmove to produce the results it has this morning, it’s certainly doing something right and serves as a reminder as to why it has been the subject of takeover interest in recent years.

Rightmove has reported a solid set of full-year results for 2025, with revenue up 9% to £425.1m and underlying operating profit also rising 9% to £297.7m, maintaining its hefty 70% margin.

The UK’s dominant property portal saw growth driven largely by agents and developers upgrading to premium packages. Its top-tier “Optimiser Edge” product now counts 35% of independent estate agents as subscribers, up from 31% a year earlier, while a new “Ascend” package for housebuilders attracted 28% of developments within months of its May launch.

More than half of independent agents exceeded their package commitment on additional products — a clear sign that the platform is finding new ways to extract value from its existing customer base.

Average revenue per advertiser rose 6% to £1,621, with agency ARPA up £90 to £1,530 and New Homes ARPA climbing £148 to £2,135. Total membership edged up 1% to 19,272, helped by record levels of new agent formation as falling mortgage rates encouraged fresh entrants into the market.

“Operationally, Rightmove remains an enviable machine. A 70% underlying margin, 89% share of time spent, and traffic that is overwhelmingly direct and organic give Rightmove a moat that most digital businesses can only dream of,” said Mark Crouch, market analyst for eToro.

“Revenue up 9%, profits up double digits, and strategic growth areas expanding 25% underline that agents are still paying for premium positioning.”

The company’s strategic growth bets are starting to pay off. Mortgages revenue surged 46% to £6.8m, Rental Services jumped 35% to £7.1m, and Commercial Property grew 13% to £15.3m. Combined, these three areas delivered £29.1m, up 25% on last year, though they still represent a relatively small slice of group revenue. It will be interesting to see how these areas progress over the coming year.

Earnings per share rose 15% to 28.1p, and the company announced a £90m share buyback alongside a final dividend of roughly £50m. Total cash returned to shareholders hit £219.7m, up 21% year on year.

On the consumer side, Rightmove’s grip on the market looks as firm as ever, with 89% share of time on Comscore at year-end and over 85% of traffic arriving directly or organically. The platform clocked 16.8 billion minutes of usage across the year.

AI featured prominently throughout the results, with 31 live AI initiatives now running across the business. Its new AI-powered Online Agent Valuation tool has seen the fastest product uptake in the company’s history. Rightmove has also struck a multi-year deal with Google Cloud to accelerate its data and AI capabilities.

Looking ahead, management flagged that 2026 will see stepped-up investment in consumer and partner innovation, AI-driven operations, and new growth areas.