ASOS Stumbles as Knights Group Shines: A Tale of Two Sectors

📈 Today's Key Themes

Pre-market announcements paint a picture of contrasting fortunes across sectors on the London Stock Exchange. The retail sector faces headwinds, exemplified by ASOS's significant losses, while professional services firms like Knights Group demonstrate robust growth. The energy sector grapples with challenges, as seen in NWF Group's profit warning and Tullow Oil's revised guidance. However, bright spots emerge in property, with Hammerson's strategic acquisition, and green energy, as ITM Power secures major projects. This mixed sentiment suggests a potentially volatile opening for the markets, with investors likely to scrutinise sector-specific performance closely.

💡 Company Updates

Annual Results

ASOS (#ASC) has reported a challenging year in its final results, with an adjusted loss before tax of £98.2m, although this marks an improvement from the £126.0m loss last year. Revenue declined by 15% to £2,477.8m, and active customers decreased by 14% to 17.0m. Despite these setbacks, the company saw an improvement in adjusted gross margin, up 370bps to 47.1%. The market sentiment towards ASOS remains negative, with concerns about its turnaround strategy and the challenging consumer environment.

Trading Updates

In a stark contrast, Knights Group Holdings (#KGH) delivered a robust trading update, reporting a 30% increase in revenue to £103.2m and a 12% rise in underlying profits for the first half. The professional services firm has seen a return to organic growth of around 3% and successful integration of recent acquisitions. The market sentiment is very positive, with the company demonstrating strong execution of its growth strategy. FRP Advisory Group (#FRP) also showed resilience in its trading statement, with revenue up 12% to £87m in H1 2026 and underlying adjusted EBITDA increasing by 3% to £23m. The company maintains a strong balance sheet with £16.5m net cash, instilling confidence in its ability to deliver continued profitable growth despite potential headwinds.

Half-Year Results

Carclo (#CAR) reported impressive half-year results, with underlying operating profit surging by 61.2% to £5.5m, despite a 6.1% revenue dip to £57.2m. Key performance metrics such as Return on Sales (10.1%) and Return on Capital Employed (28.8%) exceeded targets, indicating significant improvements in profitability and operational efficiency. The market sentiment is positive, with the company successfully optimizing its portfolio and securing expanded financing for future growth.

🎯 Leading Developments

Strategic Acquisition in Property Sector

Hammerson (#HMSO) has made a significant move by acquiring the remaining 50% stake in The Oracle, Reading, for £104.5m. This transaction is expected to be approximately 5% accretive to FY26 EPRA earnings. The Oracle, a top UK retail, leisure and lifestyle destination, has shown strong operational performance under Hammerson's management, with occupancy up to 97% and footfall increasing by 10% year-on-year. This strategic acquisition underscores the resilience in the property sector and Hammerson's confidence in prime retail assets. Read more

Major Project Win in Green Energy

ITM Power (#ITM) has secured a significant victory, being selected for two major grid balancing projects in Germany totaling 710 MW of electrolyser capacity. The first project, 'Netzbrücke 410', involves a 30 MW green hydrogen production plant, with FID expected in 2026. The second project encompasses 680 MW of indoor electrolyser capacity, with FID anticipated in 2028. This development represents a substantial strategic expansion for ITM Power into the growing grid balancing market, potentially impacting the company's long-term revenue prospects positively. Read more

Profit Warning in Energy Sector

NWF Group (#NWF) has issued a profit warning, indicating that its results for the financial year ending 31 May 2026 are now expected to be significantly below current market expectations. The Fuels division has experienced lower volumes for both domestic heating oil and commercial fuels, leading to pricing pressure and reduced profitability. While the Food and Feeds divisions performed solidly, they were not enough to offset the shortfall in Fuels. This update highlights the challenges faced by companies in the energy sector amidst changing demand patterns and pricing pressures. Read more

Production Guidance Revision in Oil & Gas

Tullow Oil (#TLW) has revised its 2025 Group production guidance to the lower end of the 40-45 kboepd range. The company is facing challenges related to natural decline in existing well stock and is exploring options to refinance its capital structure, including an amend and extend exercise. With year-end 2025 net debt guidance of c.$1.2 billion, Tullow Oil's update underscores the ongoing pressures in the oil and gas exploration and production sector. Read more

📅 Week Ahead

24 November 2025: Vodafone Group Public Limited Company (#VOD) Redemption of €1 billion Capital Securities
24 November 2025: The European Smaller Companies Trust PLC (#ESCT) Annual General Meeting
24 November 2025: Life Science REIT plc (#LABS) General Meeting to approve Managed Wind-Down
25 November 2025: Compass Group PLC (#CPG) Full year results
25 November 2025: Kingfisher plc (#KGF) Q3 25/26 trading update
25 November 2025: Renew Holdings plc (#RNWH) Preliminary results announcement
25 November 2025: Telecom Plus Plc (#TEP) Half year results announcement
26 November 2025: Johnson Matthey Plc (#JMAT) Announcement of half-year results
26 November 2025: Pets at Home Group Plc (#PETS) FY26 interim results announcement
26 November 2025: Auction Technology Group plc (#ATG) Full Year results reporting

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Market Summary