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Rio Tinto (RIO) is off to a good start in 2026. The miner revealed that it has boosted production rates for iron ore, copper and aluminium during the first quarter of the year. Management will be particularly pleased by the lift in copper equivalent output, up 9 per cent year-on-year, and driven by the Oyu Tolgoi (Turquoise Hill) site in Mongolia.

Future volumes within the copper unit could find support from exploration and evaluation spending during the period, which came in at $180mn (£134mn), against $141mn a year earlier. There was also positive news from its iron ore operations in Pilbara, Western Australia, where output was up by 13 per cent.

Against the positive trading backdrop, management cautioned that it is closely monitoring the evolving situation in the Middle East.

FTSE 250 financial adviser platform IntegraFin (IHP) grew revenue by double-digits in its first half and enjoyed record gross inflows in the second quarter despite whipsaw movements in financial markets.

Ahead of interim results on 20 May, the group said it expects to post revenue of £85.8mn for the six months to 31 March, up 11 per against the same period in FY2025. Funds under direction (FUD) rose 18 per cent to £77.8bn at the half-year mark, as gross inflows to the group’s Transact platform in the second quarter were up 15 per cent to £3.1bn and net inflows climbed 8 per cent to £1.3bn.

Management reiterated its latest guidance on costs, for underlying admin expenses growth of around 3 per cent in FY2026 and FY2027. 

The shares rose 2 per cent in early trading.

Vimto maker Nichols (NICL) said revenue grew by 4.3 per cent in the first quarter to £41mn, led by stronger growth in the packaged products business both at home and abroad.

Although there has been “no material impact on the business to date” from the conflict in the Middle East, it expects the timing of its shipments to the region to be more second-half weighted this year given the earlier timing of Ramadan in 2027.

Although full-year guidance remained unchanged, the shares rose by 4 per cent. Broker Berenberg said the shares now trade on an “undemanding” price/earnings ratio of 13, and a dividend yield of over 5 per cent.

Cab Payments (CABP) pointed to its “strongest income performance over two consecutive quarters” since its 2023 IPO and stuck with medium term guidance, as former owner Helios Investment Partners and StoneX (US:SNEX) fight to acquire the FX and payment services business.

For the three months to 31 March, total income was up 35 per cent against the same period last year to £34mn. FX volumes rose 5 per cent to £9.8bn and emerging market volumes improved 15 per cent to £3.6bn. The group added 13 new active clients in the quarter.

The shares were up 3 per cent in early trading.

Supreme (SUP) has unveiled a five-year licensing deal to make and distribute energy drinks in the UK for Thailand’s Carabao.

Carabao, which has an ongoing sponsorship deal for the English Football League Cup until 2029, makes energy and isotonic drinks. Supreme said it would work on new product development as well as improving availability and service levels to both existing and new retail customers.

Shares in the company, which said yesterday that revenue and earnings for the year just closed will be higher than expected, rose by 5 per cent.

THG (THG) reported a 7 per cent increase in first-quarter revenue, despite some slight disruption to operations in the Middle East.

Its nutrition arm was the strongest performer, growing sales by 8.8 per cent. Sales of “margin accretive” products including clothing and creatine helped to soften the blow of continued high whey protein prices. The beauty arm grew by 5.8 per cent, with “significant momentum in UK and US retail”, the company added.

Management still expects to meet full-year targets. Analysts expect revenue growth of 4.7 per cent, a 33 per cent increase in adjusted Ebitda and positive free cash flow of between £25mn-£50mn, helped by a VAT repayment.

THG’s shares rose by 7 per cent in early trading. They are up 48 per cent over the past 12 months but down 10 per cent year-to-date.

British Land (BLND) said it would slightly beat its own guidance for the year to March after better than expected leasing and rental growth in its portfolio.

The diversified real estate investment trust (Reit) now expects to report underlying earnings per share of 28.9p and like-for-like rental growth of 6 per cent in its full-year results on 20 May, up from previous guidance of 28.5p and 5 per cent, respectively.

Outgoing chief executive Simon Carter attributed this to “accelerating demand” for its office campuses and “positive leasing” in the company’s “virtually full” retail parks.

The company has guided for a total accounting return (net asset value per share growth plus dividends) of 8.1 per cent for FY2026, at the lower end of its 8-10 per cent target.

British Land also slightly increased its 2027 underlying earnings per share guidance to 30.5p, up from 30.2p previously, following the recent acquisition of Life Science Reit, which completed on Monday. Its medium-term guidance was unchanged.

The shares rose 2 per cent in early trading.

Shares in Crest Nicholson (CRST) fell as much as 42 per cent after the housebuilder aggressively cut its 2026 guidance and said that it was in discussions with its bankers about temporarily relaxing lending covenants.

Crest has recently experienced a drop-off in new buyer enquiries and a weakening land market. As a result, it has cut its guidance for home completions in the year to October to 1,400-1,500, down from 1,550-1,700 previously. It also now expects £40mn in land sale revenues, reduced from its prior forecast of between £75mn and £100mn.

These revenue pressures, coupled with higher build costs, have resulted in new operating profit guidance of £5mn-£15mn, the midpoint of which implies a reduction of more than 75 per cent on consensus expectations of £44mn.

Crest has also guided for an increase in finance costs to £15mn, up from £10mn to £12mn previously, in effect meaning it will not be profitable this year. It also guided for year-end net debt to increase to £100mn-£120mn, up from £15mn to £65mn. The company said that it was “in the early stages of seeking temporary banking covenant relaxation”.

Chief executive Martyn Clark said that it was “the right and prudent course of action” to “focus on prioritising cash generation and optimising our balance sheet position”.