UK construction activity in May showed its sharpest decline in six years as measured by the S&P Global UK Construction PMI. Excluding the pandemic, the fall was the worst since March 2009 during the global financial crisis. The UK Construction PMI (Purchasing Managers’ Index) dropped from 39.7 in April to 38.2 last month, the steepest fall since May 2020. The figure also extended the run of sub-50 readings, which signals a contraction in activity, to 17 consecutive months. S&P attributed the decline to shrinking order books and rising economic uncertainty. At the same time, higher energy, fuel and transport costs…

Facilities management group Mitie (LON:MTO) posted a double-digit increase in revenue and operating profit for FY26. The results include the benefits of the Marlowe acquisition and major contract wins during the year. Delivering growth For the year to March, Mitie reported revenue of £5.62 billion, up 10.5% on the previous year. Half the increase was organic, driven by new contract wins, scope increases, pricing and upselling, with the rest from acquisitions. Operating profit before one-off items increased 13% to £264 million, despite higher NI costs and the loss of some contracts. EPS before items rose 7% to 13.6p as higher…

Specialist electronic components maker DiscoverIE (LON:DSCV) posted record FY26 earnings which marginally topped forecasts. The firm also said the outlook for FY27 was ‘positive’ and earnings were set to meet expectations. Strong finish For the year to March, sales increased 5% to £443.3 million, fractionally above the consensus of £442.5 million. Adjusted EPS (earnings per share) rose 4% to 40.3p, again slightly higher than the consensus. The firm had a ‘strong finish’ to the FY with organic sales rising 5% in Q4 and orders rising 14%. The order book at 31 March was £165m or 4.5 months of annualised H2…

Tune in to this special edition of the Sharesify podcast with guest Salih Yilmaz, Senior Oil Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. Salih discusses the outlook for energy prices and why the Strait of Hormuz remains a key part of the equation. The conversation covers output, inventories, the potential for ‘demand destruction’ and the role of OPEC. The key takeaway for investors is oil prices are unlikely to return to their pre-Iran conflict levels. For a variety of reasons, including an embedded ‘Hormuz premium’, prices are likely to establish a new, higher floor. Meanwhile, if inventories hit ‘tank bottom’, then prices could…

AIM-listed optical components firm Gooch & Housego (LON:GHH) issued a positive H1 update and confirmed its FY guidance. It also stuck to its medium-term target of a mid-teens return on sales. Strong demand For the six months to March, G&H posted a 15.5% increase in revenue to £81.9 million driven by 9% underlying growth. Aerospace and Defence revenue jumped 52% to £35.6 million thanks to strong demand and the contribution from recent acquisitions. Group operating profit rose 17% to £7.2 million, with margins improving to 8.8% against 8.7% previously. Aerospace and Defence profitability improved ‘significantly’ to £3.6 million, accounting for…

Shares in international payments group Wise (LON:WISE) fell after the Belgian financial regulator opened an investigation. The probe was prompted by concerns the company’s services may have been used to launder the proceeds of crime. Ongoing enquiry According to The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, Belgian prosecutors opened the probe last year. This was in response to Wise accounts featuring in ‘hundreds’ of requests for cross-border help in criminal proceedings. The requests came from more than 30 countries across Europe and involved transactions totalling around €500 million. According to The Bureau, the regulator is looking into ‘indications of non-compliance with AML…

Shares in AIM-listed integrated circuit maker EnSilica (LON:ENSI) extended their gains on news of a major contract win. So far this year the stock has risen close to 160%, with most of the gains coming in the last two months. Tier 1 customer Abingdon-based EnSilica announced it had won a new $75 million seven-year contract with a German auto components firm. The contract is to manufacture and supply an Arm-based sensing chip already in production, meaning no design or testing is required. While the contract is worth $75 million in total, only $4m will flow into the company’s account in…

Shares in EasyJet (LON:EZJ) jumped over 10% on news US private equity firm Castlelake was considering making an offer. Castlelake is majority owned by US alternative asset management firm Brookfield (NYSE:BAM). ‘Highly opportunistic’ timing Castlelake issued a statement late on Friday 29 May saying it was ‘in the early stages of considering a possible offer’ for the firm. Today it revealed it owns 16.2 million shares or 2.1% of EasyJet’s share capital. The US firm also said any bid would be at no less than 403.23p per share. EasyJet shares closed at 398p on Friday so investors will have to…

Sensors, snoopers and superheroes are among our areas of focus next week. Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD) has had its ups and downs over the last year but it remains one of the most closely watched, and highest rated, cybersecurity stocks around. CrowdStrike reports after-hours Wednesday, 3 June, just a day after Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) reports, so a busy week for the cybersec space. 3 JUne will also see quaterlies from Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO), one of the real AI infrastructure winners so far – AVGO stock +23% YTD. Elsewhere, we’ll hear from America’s biggest specialist beauty retailer Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA), a…

Shares in Ocado (LON:OCDO) jumped 10% on news the online grocery retailer had signed a partnership with Asda. With a network of around 1,100 stores and FY25 sales of over £21 billion, Asda is the UK’s third-biggest grocery seller. 2027 start date Asda already operates a substantial online business, fulfilling more than 700,000 orders per week from its stores and warehouses. The deal will see Ocado roll out its software platform across these sites, replacing Asda’s current system, from 2027. Asda will deploy Ocado’s software for its front end, in-store fulfilment, click and collect and last-mile delivery. It will also…