Shares in Vodafone tumbled after a trading update from the mobile telecoms and broadband firm revealed that it is continuing to struggle in a major market.
A law change in Germany last year relating to pay TV has hit Vodafone’s operations in the country.
The FTSE 100-listed group saw a key revenue stream fall by 6.4 per cent in Germany in its third quarter to December 31, 2024.
However, its equivalent revenue in the UK rose by 3.3 per cent, and total revenue in the third quarter increased by 5 per cent to £8.2billion.
Vodafone also said it intends to launch a share buyback of up to £400million, the final tranche of an ongoing £1.66billion programme. But none of that helped Vodafone’s shares, which dropped 7 per cent, or 4.92p, to 65.1p.
As Trump trade war worries continued to knock investor confidence, the FTSE 100 index closed down 0.2 per cent, or 12.79 points, at 8570.77, and the FTSE 250 index ended off 0.3 per cent, or 58.5 points, at 20,653.26.
Among the blue chips, gambling group Entain jumped 5.7 per cent, or 39.8p, to 734.8p after Bet MGM, its US sports-betting joint venture with MGM Resorts, said it expects to turn a profit in 2025, boosted by an enhanced online presence following the integration of Angstrom Sports and strength in its iGaming segment.
But household products giant Reckitt Benckiser, maker of Cillit Bang, shed 1.3 per cent, or 68p, to 5236p as analysts at Barclays cut their rating to ‘equal weight’ from ‘overweight’, citing portfolio transformation uncertainties.
Broker comments also hit FTSE 250-listed SSP, which lost 1.1 per cent, or 1.9p, to 177.5p.
Analysts at RBC Capital cut the Upper Crust owner’s rating to ‘sector perform’ from ‘outperform’ on concerns over cash flow recovery and valuation.
But Dunelm gained 2.1 per cent, or 20p, to 981.5p after the same broker’s analysts upgraded its rating to ‘outperform’. They cited the homeware group’s ability to grow sales and gain market share despite a tough retail environment.
Low-cost airline Wizz Air slipped 0.4 per cent, or 5p, to 1233p despite revealing that it carried 4.93m passengers in January, a 4 per cent increase year-on-year.
Among the small caps, recruiter Staffline leaped 28.7 per cent, or 5.4p, to 24.2p as it said its 2024 underlying operating profit rose 7.8 per cent to £11.1million, exceeding market expectations, as its revenue increased by 13 per cent to £1.06billion.
Green building materials Alumasc reported a strong first half performance, with a 19 per cent jump in underlying profit, as revenue rose by 20 per cent. Shares 5.2 per cent, or 15p, to 302.5p.
And boutique video games label Devolver Digital revealed its 2024 revenue topped $100million, aided by successful new releases. Shares took on 6.7 per cent, or 1.5p, to 24p.
But Funding Circle plunged 15.6 per cent, or 19.5p, to 105.5p.
The High Court had ruled that it will hear claims made by assets manager Azzurro Associates that defects in the lending firm’s documentation and processes left it unable to pursue small business owners over personal guarantees.
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