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Shares in DCC (DCC) jumped after the FTSE 100 energy group confirmed it had received a takeover approach from Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (US:KKR) and Energy Capital Partners.

In a short statement, Dublin-based DCC said it was mulling an all-cash bid for the company but did not name a price. The group’s shares jumped by 12 per cent to 6,010p.

Over the past two years, DCC has brought in about £1.15bn selling off healthcare and technology distribution businesses to focus solely on its role as an energy provider. Although it still makes the bulk of its revenue from fossil fuels it has been building an energy services business based largely on renewable sources.

 The company is due to report final results for its March year-end next month. Consensus forecasts are for a 1 per cent increase in operating profit to £623mn. MF

On Tuesday night, the Pension Schemes Bill completed its progression through Parliament, following days of disagreement over the powers it grants.

Originally, the government planned to introduce a “reserve power” which would allow it to set uncapped target levels for pension schemes for private asset investments, including in the UK.

Following backlash, a cap was introduced so that no more than 10 per cent of a default fund can be directed to invest in private assets, and no more than 5 per cent in UK assets. This brings in line with the voluntary Mansion House Accord proposals. Yesterday, the government added further amendments so that it will not be allowed to exercise the mandation power until 2028 and the power will expire in 2032 if it has not been used.

The government has also made it easier to appeal mandation directives. Previously, the threshold for exemption was that the investment would need to cause scheme members “material financial detriment”. This has been lowered so that schemes only need to show the investment is not in the best interest of its members.

A further amendment will allow pension schemes to invest in investment trusts to meet requirements to invest in private assets.

AstraZeneca (AZN) kept its full-year 2026 guidance unchanged after first-quarter total revenues climbed 8 per cent at constant currency to $15.3bn (£11.3bn), with core operating profit up 12 per cent to $5.4bn. The share price drifted 1 per cent lower in morning trading, however.

Management pointed to four positive phase three readouts since February as evidence that the development pipeline was starting to crank up. The company also reaffirmed expectations for full-year revenue growth in the mid-to-high single digits and core earnings per share growth in the low double digits.

Oncology remained the standout performer, with sales up 16 per cent to $6.8bn: imfinzi grew 30 per cent on the back of new gastrointestinal and genitourinary launches, while enhertu sales rose 34 per cent.

Rare disease revenues rose 15 per cent to $2.4bn. Cardiovascular, renal and metabolism sales fell 7 per cent, dented by brilinta’s loss of US exclusivity and generic erosion to farxiga in China.

Read more: GSK doubles down on oncology as AstraZeneca’s pipeline cranks up

While a less aggressive cold and flu is good for the northern hemisphere, it has knocked Haleon’s (HLN) first-quarter sales and left it flat compared to last year.

Revenue for the quarter was £2.86bn. The respiratory product category saw the largest organic fall (taking into account foreign exchange impacts), dropping 3.4 per cent to £499mn. This was balanced out by higher sales of Sensodyne toothpaste which took oral health sales up 8 per cent to £932mn.

Haleon has kept to its guidance for 2026 of 3-5 per cent organic sales growth, with chief executive Brian McNamara saying sales growth would “accelerate across the balance of the year”.

In geographic terms, North America was the drag on sales in the quarter, with 1 per cent organic revenue growth. Haleon said sponsorships during the men’s World Cup in the summer would “support performance”. The shares were down 3 per cent.

GSK (GSK) delivered a confident first quarter under new chief executive Luke Miels, reporting turnover that was up 5 per cent at constant currency to £7.6bn and core operating profit 10 per cent higher at £2.65bn.

The FTSE 100 pharma company confirmed its full-year 2026 guidance for sales growth of 3-5 per cent and core earnings per share growth of 7-9 per cent. However, traders bid the shares down 1.8 per cent in the morning session.

Its speciality medicines remained the engine of the business, with sales up 14 per cent to £3.2bn. Oncology revenues grew 28 per cent and HIV 10 per cent, the latter helped by long-acting injectables cabenuva and apretude, which together drove most of the divisional growth. Vaccines edged up 4 per cent to £2.1bn, with shingrix sales hitting a record £1bn.

Miels used his first quarterly results to highlight progress on the pipeline. GSK secured regulatory filings in the US, EU, China and Japan for bepirovirsen, its potential functional cure for chronic hepatitis B. Meanwhile, phase one data for the mo-rez cancer treatment has paved the way for five phase three trials in 2026.

Read our Deep Dive into GSK here

Shares in Halfords (HFD) surged 10 per cent in early trading after the retailer said that profit for 2026 will hit the upper end of its guidance, thanks to a boom in its cycling division.

Like-for-like sales at the Worcestershire-headquartered company rose by 5 per cent for the year to 3 April. Halford’s cycling business, which currently makes up a fifth of revenue, reported 6.4 per cent sales growth, while motoring sales climbed 2.9 per cent. As a result, management expects pre-tax profit to be at the upper end of the £36mn to £41mn range.

Halfords struck a sanguine tone on the outlook given the conflict in Iran. The board said the majority of its energy costs and foreign exchange requirements for 2027 are already hedged, with freight rates agreed in advance, “supporting visibility and mitigating near-term volatility”.

Final results are expected on 25 June.

Shares in St James’s Place (STJ) fell 5 per cent this morning after the wealth manager reported a drop in pension inflows during the first quarter, raising concerns over a potential slowdown in its core business.

Although gross inflows rose slightly to £5.2bn, net inflows slowed from £1.69bn a year earlier to £1.5bn. Net inflows in the pension business, which account for the lion’s share of the firm’s total funds under management (FUM), fell to £1.01bn, down from £1.26bn a year ago.

Closing FUM also dropped from the record £220bn reported at the end of 2025 to £217bn. Net inflows were more than offset by negative market returns of £4.6bn in the quarter, which management attributed to “heightened geopolitical uncertainty”.

The FUM retention rate ticked up slightly to 95.3 per cent, while Panmure Liberum analyst Abid Hussain noted “no signs of outflow accelerations” despite changes to the firm’s fee structure and the simplification of its model.

“[Given this is the] first wholly clean quarter under the new fee changes, it is encouraging to see retention levels holding up well and we continue to believe that the advice-led business should create stickier flows,” he added.

Jet2 (JET2) said results for the year just closed would be in line with expectations, with an operating profit of £435mn-£440mn. This is slightly lower than last year given higher spending on the launch of its Gatwick base.

The package holidays provider said bookings for the summer holiday period were happening “increasingly close to departure”, given the uncertainties that have arisen since the war in Iran began in late February. Still, bookings for the June quarter are up 6.2 per cent, pretty much in line with its planned 7.7 per cent increase in capacity.

Uncertainty has crept into travel demand, as jet fuel prices have doubled following the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Jet2 has hedged 87 per cent of its summer requirements, though, and said it is “in frequent dialogue” with fuel companies and airports about supply. Jet2’s shares were flat in early trading but have lost about a quarter of their value so far this year and trade at just five times forecast earnings.

Aston Martin Lagonda (AML) reported a 16 per cent uplift in first-quarter revenue to £274mn, which helped to cut its pre-tax loss by 18 per cent to £65.5mn. However, the luxury car maker continues to bleed cash and despite a £50mn inflow from the sale of the naming rights to the Aston Martin F1 team, it suffered a free cash outflow of £117mn. By the end of the quarter, net debt had risen by a further £80mn to £1.45bn and it only had £177mn of available liquidity left – a fall from £250mn at its year-end. The Yew Tree consortium led by chair Lawrence Stroll has agreed to pump in a further £50mn, though, bringing liquidity to about £230mn.

Aston Martin expects “a material cumulative year-on-year improvement” in free cash flow from the current quarter onwards. The shares are down 38 per cent year to date, and were flat in reaction to the Q1 update.