London open: FTSE gains but Vistry tanks after another profit warning

(Sharecast News) - London stocks gained in early trade on Tuesday after a positive session on Wall Street, but Vistry tumbled as the housebuilder issued its third profit warning of the year. At 0830 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.4% at 8,132.98 in what was set to be a quiet half day of trade before the Christmas break.

Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "The FTSE 100 delivered a positive start to Christmas Eve trading, despite a week clouded by lacklustre economic data. Monday's session saw the index close slightly lower after opening in the red, as final GDP figures revealed the UK economy stalled in the third quarter with no growth from the prior period and just a 0.9% annual rise.

"Adding to the wintry chill, second-quarter growth was revised down from 0.5% to 0.4%, stoking concerns about the UK's slowing momentum heading into the new year."

In equity markets, there was no Christmas cheer for Vistry shareholders as the housebuilder slashed profit guidance yet again, citing delays to expected year-end transactions and completions.

The company now expects adjusted pre-tax profit for the year to 31 December to be around £250m, down from previous guidance of £300m.

Vistry said a number of agreements with partners had taken longer to conclude and forecast these to be finished in fiscal 2025. It also pulled a number of proposed deals where the commercial terms on offer "were not sufficiently attractive".

Britzman said: "This marks the group's third profit downgrade of the year, a troubling trend driven by a string of poor management decisions and forecasting missteps that have left investors feeling far from jolly.

"Even a late cash influx in December couldn't light up the season, with net debt now expected to close the year at around £200m - a far cry from the neutral footing investors had hoped for.

"As the year ends on a sour note, Vistry faces a long winter of rebuilding trust, leaving investors with little choice but to mull over their options."

Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey and Barratt Redrow were the worst performers on the FTSE 100.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,132.98 0.37% FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,466.31 0.23% techMARK (TASX) 4,603.60 0.29%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Vodafone Group (VOD) 67.20p 1.08% easyJet (EZJ) 575.40p 0.84% Diploma (DPLM) 4,278.00p 0.80% Shell (SHEL) 2,428.00p 0.79% Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 54.38p 0.78% International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 303.90p 0.76% Next (NXT) 9,820.00p 0.76% M&G (MNG) 194.75p 0.75% Smith (DS) (SMDS) 542.00p 0.74% Airtel Africa (AAF) 109.40p 0.74%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Persimmon (PSN) 1,190.00p -1.73% Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 120.55p -1.27% Barratt Redrow (BTRW) 430.00p -1.06% BT Group (BT.A) 143.60p -0.83% Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 941.00p -0.63% Severn Trent (SVT) 2,495.00p -0.44% Ashtead Group (AHT) 4,957.00p -0.42% Games Workshop Group (GAW) 13,160.00p -0.38% Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 20,850.00p -0.29% Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,876.00p -0.26%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Dr. Martens (DOCS) 77.00p 5.05% Trainline (TRN) 452.40p 4.72% CMC Markets (CMCX) 262.50p 4.58% Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 149.00p 3.47% Target Healthcare Reit Ltd (THRL) 85.00p 3.41% Serco Group (SRP) 155.90p 3.18% 4Imprint Group (FOUR) 4,900.00p 2.94% AO World (AO.) 107.80p 2.86% RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 3,280.00p 2.34% Rathbones Group (RAT) 1,688.00p 2.30%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Vistry Group (VTY) 528.00p -19.27% FirstGroup (FGP) 160.60p -3.49% Future (FUTR) 925.00p -1.70% HGCapital Trust (HGT) 525.00p -1.50% Bellway (BWY) 2,378.00p -1.08% Essentra (ESNT) 129.20p -1.07% Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust (USA) 278.50p -1.07% NCC Group (NCC) 142.60p -0.97% JPMorgan Japanese Inv Trust (JFJ) 556.00p -0.89% Syncona Limited NPV (SYNC) 100.20p -0.79%