Fevertree Drinks has lowered its annual profit forecast following a surge in glass costs and poor weather in the UK.

The upmarket soft drinks producer now anticipates making between £30million and £36million in core earnings this year, compared to a prior forecast of £36million to £42million.

For the first six months of 2023, the London-based firm reported profits slumping by more than half to £10.2million because of higher staff and overhead costs, and other elevated inflationary pressures.

Soaring gas prices have made glass bottle manufacturing more expensive.

Fevertree, which sells about 80 per cent of its products in glass bottles, warned in January that spiralling energy bills would result in around £20million in extra glass-making costs this year.

Although the company has raised prices for customers, greater local US production, and boosted supply chain resilience, first-half gross margins still declined by 670 basis points to 30.7 per cent.

Fevertree does expect margins to improve as transatlantic freight rates shrink and the full impact of recent price hikes is recognised.

However, the firm noted that demand in the UK had been affected by ‘unseasonably poor weather’ during the critical summer trading period, having already flatlined in the first half of the year.

By comparison, revenues expanded by 40 per cent to £56.1million in the United States thanks to a bumper rise in new hospitality customers and retail sales.

Alongside a decent performance across Europe, this helped Fevertree’s overall turnover increase by 9 per cent to £175.6million for the six months ending June.

‘Whilst the vagaries of the British summer weather have impacted sales since period end…the group still expects to deliver good growth in the reminder of 2023,’ said Tim Warrillow, chief executive of Fevertree.

But slowing UK trade and the cost of a one-off inventory buyback in Australia mean the company has cut its annual revenue outlook to between £380million and £390million.

Following the update, Fevertree Drinks shares fell 0.6 per cent, or 7p, to £12.98 on Tuesday morning, but have risen by about 39 per cent in the past 12 months. 

‘The business can’t seem to get a break,’ remarked Russ Mould, investment director at trading platform AJ Bell.

He added: ‘Despite delivering strong growth in the US, gaining market share in the UK and seeing progress in other parts of the world, Fevertree still seems to have as many critics as it does fans.

‘Admittedly, profits, margins and cash fell in the first-half period which suggests a business under pressure. Its challenge is to reverse that trend and get everything back on track.’

John Wood Group has upgraded its annual profit guidance following major contract wins and strong growth within its projects business.

The FTSE 250 engineering services company told investors on Tuesday its adjusted core earnings for this year are now forecast to be ‘ahead of our previous expectations’.

Wood Group has also raised its revenue outlook after turnover expanded by about a fifth at constant currency rates to $3billion (£2.4billion) for the six months ending June.

Sales in its projects division jumped by 29.6 per cent to $1.25billion, thanks to robust demand from the chemicals, and oil and gas sectors, which offset the run-down of lump sum turnkey activity.

Compared to the same period last year, the segment was the only one to see an uplift in its order book, after gaining a major engineering services contract with Euro Manganese and a life sciences engineering deal from GSK worth around $50million. 

But the group’s overall headline order book increased by 5 per cent from the end of December to about $6billion.

Other major contracts recently won by Wood Group have included an estimated $250million two-year extended deal to provide services to Brunei Shell Petroleum, Brunei’s largest energy producer.

Ken Gilmartin, chief executive of Wood Group, said: ‘As we look ahead, we are confident that our actions, the business model we have implemented and the market growth opportunities to which we have aligned, support the momentum we are building in our business. 

‘As such, we are increasing our full-year guidance… for revenue and EBITDA.’

John Wood Group shares were 3.8 per cent, or 5.6p, higher at 153.7p on Tuesday morning, making them the second-best performer on the FTSE 250 Index.

Wood Group further announced on Tuesday that chief financial officer David Kemp would be standing down after a decade in his role. 

Kemp joined the firm in 2013 from Trapoil, later renamed Jersey Oil and Gas after being relaunched by entrepreneurs Andrew Benitz and Ronald Landsell.

During his tenure at Wood, the company acquired major rival Amec Foster Wheeler, but sold off numerous divisions, including its nuclear and consulting arms, partly to reduce its high debt pile.

The sale of the former business came just before the coronavirus pandemic started, when plunging oil prices slashed demand for the group’s services.

More recently, Wood was the subject of an unsuccessful takeover approach by private equity giant Apollo Global Management.

Wood’s board opened the firm’s books following a fifth bid worth £1.7billion, but Apollo walked away from the potential deal without explanation.   

Adam Vettese, an analyst at eToro, said: ‘The reasons that led Apollo to bid for the firm in the first place persist, which means another bidder could move in at some point with the share price depressed – or even Apollo again once its six-month cooling off period expires.’

DP World has warned of an ‘uncertain’ outlook after the port operator revealed a drop in half-year profits.

The Emirati-state run firm, which owns P&O Ferries, saw profits attributable to its owners decline by 9.7 per cent to $651million (£510million) for the six months ending June.

Profits fell despite shipping freight rates continuing to fall back from record levels in mid-2021 amid improving supply chain issues and a global economic slowdown.

DP World cautioned that the immediate outlook remained mired by geopolitical factors, high inflation, recent interest rate hikes, and currency fluctuations.

The group is owned by Dubai World, an investment company that operates on behalf of the Government of Dubai. 

DP World still managed to boost total turnover by 13.9 per cent to just over $9billion, thanks to solid performances from its Imperial Logistics and Drydocks World businesses.

Container volumes also bucked the broader market, increasing by 3.1 per cent to 39.9 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), with the Asia-Pacific region driving growth and offsetting weaker trade across the Americas and Europe.

Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, chief executive and chairman of DP World Group, said: ‘While the near-term trade outlook may be uncertain due to macroeconomic and geopolitical factors, the solid financial performance of the first six months positions us well to deliver a steady set of full-year results.

‘We remain optimistic about the medium to long-term prospects of the industry and DP World’s capacity to consistently generate sustainable returns.’

The global container fleet is expected to expand by 6.3 per cent in 2023 and 8.1 per cent next year, according to the Baltic and International Maritime Council, a trade association representing shipowners.

Headquartered in Dubai, the logistics giant’s ports include Jebel Ali, the busiest in the Middle East, and Southampton and London Gateway in the UK.

It handled around 79 million containers across its network last year and plans to boost its capacity by another 3 million TEUs by the end of 2023.

DP World invested $910 million across its estate during the first half of this year and anticipates spending $2billion overall by the end of December. 

The company sparked public anger in 2022 when P&O Ferries, which it initially bought for £3.3billion in 2006, abruptly sacked 800 British-based employees without notice and replaced them with agency workers.

P&O’s boss, Pete Hebblethwaite, admitted the action was unlawful because the firm did not give 45 days’ notice to authorities before planning to make redundancies and failed to consult with unions.

WH Smith has boosted its full-year forecasts as loosening Covid-related restrictions continued to lift airport store sales during the spring period.

The retailer’s total turnover increased by 23 per cent year-on-year for the 13 weeks ending 27 May, with modest growth in high street trade complemented by a solid performance from its travel business.

Sales in the UK travel arm expanded by almost a quarter, which the firm credited to a rebound in passenger numbers, the launch of new categories, as well as bumper trade at electronics-led InMotion shops.

Its railway-based outlets also achieved a 10 per cent rise in revenues despite footfall on some days being impacted by Aslef and RMT workers striking over pay and conditions.

At the same time, turnover grew by more than a quarter in its North American travel business but climbed by 79 per cent throughout the rest of the world thanks to a rebound across Australia and Asia.

WH Smith’s growth was also heavily driven by opening new establishments at transit destinations, including Newark Liberty International and Kansas airports in the US.

Since the start of last September, the FTSE 250 bookseller’s travel segment has won more than 70 store tenders, meaning it now has over 130 outlets yet to open.

In April, WH Smith predicted its travel division would provide approximately 70 per cent of revenues and about 85 per cent of earnings from trading operations by the end of the current financial year.

WH Smith said on Wednesday that its annual expectations have ‘modestly improved,’ adding that it was ‘in a good position as we approach the peak summer trading period’.

WH Smith shares were 2.4 per cent up at £15.65 on late Wednesday afternoon, although they remain significantly below their pre-Covid peak of about £26.60. 

Trading for most of the first two years of the pandemic was severely depressed by cross-border travel restrictions and a surge in people working from home. 

But while the company’s high street arm performed comparatively better at times, it has struggled for many years with weak sales and profits, underinvestment and stiff competition from retail giants like Amazon. 

Instead, WH Smith has focused on expanding the travel business, buying a raft of former Dixons Travel outlets in summer 2021 and adding more InMotion stores.

Neil Shah, director of content and strategy at Edison Group, said: ‘WH Smith’s gradual transformation over the past two decades, transitioning from the high street to airport terminals, has played a crucial role in its resilience and expansion.

‘With strong trading momentum, a growing pipeline of new stores, and recovering passenger numbers, the company is well-positioned to seize the opportunities presented by the peak summer trading period and beyond.’