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Shares in Elixirr International (ELIX) rose as much as 5 per cent in early trading after the ‘challenger’ consultancy reported a double-digit surge in both revenue and profits in 2025, driven by demand for AI-related services.

Revenue jumped 34 per cent to £150mn, with sales linked to AI work up 260 per cent year on year. Adjusted Ebitda soared 42 per cent to £44mn, with the margin up 1.6 percentage points to 29.6 per cent. Adjusted profit before tax rose 38 per cent to £41mn.

Free cash flow was up 11 per cent to £31mn, yet the company swung from a net cash balance of £7.5mn a year earlier to a £24mn net debt position following the acquisition of TRC. Still, the board hiked the dividend per share by 27 per cent to 22.6p.

The company, which moved from Aim to the main market last summer and has the FTSE 250 index in its sights, said trading during the first quarter of 2026 has been in line with management expectations, with revenue coming in at a record high.

M&C Saatchi (SAA) has warned that the war in Iran is likely to significantly impact its sport and entertainment and consumer-facing businesses, as the Aim-traded media agency reported a slump in statutory profits and lower net revenues last year.

Net revenue fell 7.3 per cent on a like-for-like basis to £205mn, with performance heavily hampered by the Australian market and the US government shutdown in the final quarter. Excluding Australia, the like-for-like net revenue decline was 2.5 per cent.

Like-for-like operating profit dropped 26.1 per cent to £25mn, with the related margin down 310 basis points to 12.2 per cent. Statutory operating profit more than halved to £10mn, reflecting restructuring costs and the closure of its media buying business in Australia.

Despite the profit slump and the exit of chief executive Zaid Al-Qassab last month, chair Heather Rabbatts said the group is confident of returning to growth this year, with “anticipated ongoing volatility” managed through its largely variable cost base.

The board also said it intends to reallocate funds from dividends towards an “enhanced” share buyback programme.

Shares in heavily indebted gambling group Evoke (EVOK) rose by 6 per cent after it confirmed weekend reports that it was in talks about a potential sale to Athens-listed gambling group Bally’s Intralot (GR:BYLOT).

Evoke said the deal under discussion is for a price of 50p a share, which would value the company at around £225mn. It is expected to be an all-share offer, with a “partial cash alternative”, although there is no guarantee a bid will emerge, it added.

Evoke, previously known as 888 Holdings, has struggled under a significant debt burden since buying out the William Hill business in 2021 for £2.2bn. At the half-year stage last August, it had net debt of £1.58bn and in December it announced it had appointed Rothschild to look at a potential sale of the business.

Bally’s Intralot, which runs lottery, gaming and sports betting sites, recently reported a pre-tax profit of €180mn (£157mn) for 2025 but had an adjusted net debt pile of its own of €1.5bn.

Evoke’s share price rose by 5 per cent to 41p. Bally’s Intralot has until 18 May to decide whether to make a firm offer or to walk away from a deal.

Supreme (SUP) reported that the disposable vapes ban had little effect on its overall business as adjusted cash profit for the year just closed came in “significantly ahead” of consensus forecasts.

The company reported a 15 per cent increase in revenue to £265mn, due in part to “strong vape sales” but also the number of acquisitions made last year. It also generated adjusted Ebitda of £40.6mn, marginally ahead of last year but well ahead of a consensus forecast of £37mn.

Despite spending £12.4mn on acquisitions and £5mn on upgrading its manufacturing capacity, it finished the year with a positive net cash balance.

The Manchester-based company’s shares rose by 7 per cent.

Renishaw (RSW) reported strong demand from customers in the semiconductor and electronics manufacturing market, leading it to raise full-year revenue and profit guidance.

The engineering group’s shares jumped by 7 per cent as it upgraded its adjusted pre-tax profit forecast to £145mn-£165mn, from £132mn-£157mn previously. Revenue guidance was also lifted to £775mn-£805mn, from £740mn-£780mn at the half-year results stage in February.

House broker Peel Hunt lifted its adjusted earnings per share (EPS) forecast by 5.6 per cent to 166p. It also expects EPS to be 4.9 per cent higher than previously forecast for next year at 185p a share.

The UK housing market defied economic uncertainty in April to notch up a 0.8 per cent increase in average asking prices, according to Rightmove. The average asking price increased by £3,000 to £374,000. This is 0.9 per cent lower than in April 2025.

Moreover, the number of agreed sales was only 3 per cent lower than at the same time in 2025, when buyers were rushing to complete deals before a stamp duty holiday ended.

Mortgage rates have risen significantly since the start of the conflict in the Middle East. The average two-year fixed rate has risen to 5.42 per cent from 4.25 per cent before the conflict. This equates to an additional expense of £235 per month for a typical new mortgage.

“For most of the market, the combination of rising mortgage rates and the number of homes for sale being at its highest level for the time of year [for] over a decade, means that competitive pricing is crucial for sellers,” said property expert Colleen Babcock.

Babcock also noted that price growth had been strongest in Scotland, where asking prices rose 4 per cent in April, due to “lower average asking prices and a faster home-buying process”.

Trading platform Plus500 (PLUS) expects its annual results to come in ahead of company-compiled consensus, as market volatility drove surging customer numbers in the first quarter.

In the three months to 31 March, revenue was up 18 per cent against the same period last year to $242mn (£179mn) and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) ticked up 2 per cent to $95.7mn. Active customers rose 21 per cent to 157,703, while new customers jumped 48 per cent to 39,867.

Plus500’s non-over-the-counter (OTC) business (futures and options products and sharedealing) generated 15 per cent of revenue in the quarter and delivered 18 per cent of new customers.

The consensus compiled by Plus500 for FY2026 is for revenue of $779mn and Ebitda of $360mn.