Europe Movers:

Inga Muller
12 Mar, 2025
Frankfurt

Headlam Group Plc. dropped 5.4% to 104.00 pence after the UK-based floor coverings provider reported results for 2024.

Revenue declined to £593.1 million from £656.5 million, profit before tax swung to a loss of £34.3 million from a profit of £11 million, and loss per share was 35.0 pence compared to a profit of 9.6 pence a year ago.

The company said that so far in 2025, consumer spending on home improvements had remained negative despite weak comparatives and Headlam’s transformation plan.

Group revenue for January and February was 6% below the previous year.

“Lead indicators point to market recovery, but timing is uncertain,” the company said in a note to investors.

INDITEX dropped 2.3% to €48.90 after the Spain-based fashion retailer reported results for fiscal 2024.

Net sales jumped to €38.63 billion from €35.95 billion, net profit edged up to €5.87 billion from €5.38 billion, and earnings per share rose to €1.884 from €1.729 a year ago.

The company guided for fiscal 2025 an increase in annual gross retail space to be around 5% and ordinary capital expenditure to be around €1.8 billion.

INDITEX proposed a dividend increase of 9% to €1.68 per share for 2024, payable in two equal payments on May 2 and on November 3.

Porsche Automobil Holding SE eased 1.5% to €38.99 after the German luxury vehicle manufacturer reported results for 2024.

Revenue declined to €40.08 billion from €40.53 billion, profit before tax slumped to €5.23 billion from €7.37 billion, and diluted earnings per ordinary share fell to €3.94 from €5.66 a year ago.

Vehicle sales in the fourth quarter amounted to 91,316 units, compared to 83,413 units in the same period in 2023.

PUMA SE dropped 22.4% to €21.41 after the sports products maker's weak outlook and dividend cut overshadowed the results of the fourth quarter.

Sales increased 15.5% to €2.29 billion from €1.98 billion, net income surged to €24.5 million from €0.8 million, and diluted earnings per share jumped to 16 cents from 1 cent a year ago.

The company announced a share buyback program for up to €100 million, ending in May 2025.

PUMA will propose a dividend of 61 cents per share for 2024 at the annual general meeting on May 21.

The company guided fiscal 2025 currency-adjusted sales growth at a “low- to mid-single-digit percentage rate” and estimated adjusted EBIT excluding one-time costs in the range between €520 million and €600 million.

The company had previously estimated revenue growth in 2025 to surpass that of the previous year. 

After the company released the financial results, PUMA stock plunged as much as 23% to a level not seen since 2016.

Legal & General Group Plc. eased 0.2% to 244.30 pence after the UK-based financial services company announced the return of capital to shareholders despite the slump in earnings. 

Revenue increased to £12.69 billion from £12.11 billion, profit slumped to £191 million from £457 million, and diluted earnings per share dropped to 2.86 pence from 7.28 pence a year ago.

The company paid a dividend of 21.36 pence per share, up from 20.34 pence per share in 2023.

In addition, Legal & General announced a £500 million stock buyback program for 2025, planning to return more than £5 billion through dividends and buybacks within three years.

Balfour Beatty Plc. eased 0.6% to 430.80 pence after the UK-based construction and infrastructure services provider reported results for 2024.

Revenue increased to £10.01 billion from £9.59 billion, profit declined to £178 million from £194 million, and basic earnings per share fell to 34.2 pence from 35.3 pence a year ago.

The company’s order book amounted to £18.4 billion, up from £16.5 billion in 2023.

Balfour Beatty estimated “further profitable growth from earnings-based businesses” over the next two years, with the expected net finance income of around £25 million for 2025.

The total cash return to shareholders in 2025 is expected to be £188 million, compared to £161 million in 2024.

The company proposed a final dividend of 8.7 pence per share, up from 8.0 pence in 2023, giving a total dividend for the year of 12.5 pence per share, up from 11.5 pence in 2023.

In addition, Balfour Beatty plans to repurchase £125 million of shares during 2025, bringing the cumulative return to shareholders since the program’s introduction in 2021 to over £940 million.

4imprint Group Plc. plunged 14.9% to 4.077 pence despite the UK-based provider of direct marketing promotional products reporting higher sales in 2024.

Revenue increased 3% to $1.37 billion from $1.33 billion, profit before tax surged 10% to $154.4 million from $140.7 million, and basic earnings per share rose 10% to 416.3 cents from 377.9 cents a year ago.

The company finished 2024 with cash and bank deposits of $147.6 million, up from $104.5 million in 2023.

4imprint proposed a final dividend of 160 cents per share, up from 150 cents in 2023, giving a total paid and proposed regular dividend per share of 240 cents, up 12% from 215 cents in 2023.

In addition, the company proposed a special dividend of 250 cents per share for 2024, bringing total regular and special 2024 dividends to 490 cents per share.

Investors sold stock on the worry that orders in the current quarter may lag from the previous year amid the tariff war and slowing economic growth in the U.S. 

"In the first two months of 2025, revenue at the order intake level was slightly down compared to the same period in 2024, reflecting continued uncertainty in the market," Group Chairman Paul Moody said in a release issued to investors. 

Brenntag SE gained 0.2% to €64.50 after the German chemicals and ingredients distributor reported results for fiscal 2024.

Sales declined to €16.24 billion from €16.81 billion, profit fell to €536.2 million from €714.9 million, and earnings per share dropped to €3.71 from €4.73 a year ago.

The company guided for fiscal 2025 operating EBITA to be between €1.1 billion and €1.3 billion, compared to €1.10 billion in 2024, taking into account the earnings contributions from acquisitions already completed.

Brenntag will propose a dividend of €2.10 per share to the annual general meeting on May 22.