FTSE 250 movers: Trustpilot surges on results

(Sharecast News) - FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,571.22 -0.35% Trustpilot Group boosted its full-year outlook on Tuesday, after a strong first half saw earnings beat expectations.

Revenues at the London-listed consumer reviews platform rose 23% - or by 21% on a constant currency basis - to $122.8m in the six months to 30 June, while bookings increased 19% to $140m.

Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation surged 70% to $18m, which Trustpilot said was ahead of internal expectations. Pre-tax profits were 45% higher at $3.7m.

The Danish firm said it had benefited from new tools, such as AI review summaries, during the period, as well as enterprise customer wins, including Barclays, Boots, Lindt and Vimeo.

Looking to the full year, Trustpilot said second-half trading had so far been ahead of expectations.

As a result, it reiterated its outlook for high-teens constant currency revenue growth for the full-year, but said the adjusted EBITDA margin would be in line with the first half, ahead of expectations.

Adrian Blair, chief executive, said: "Our first half results demonstrate the momentum of our platform and the strength of our business model.

"Our expanded use of AI in operations helped drive significant efficiencies, contributing to a notable improvement in adjusted EBITDA margin and strong free cash flow generation.

"We remain confident in the long-term growth opportunities ahead."

The FTSE 250 group also said on Tuesday that it would commence a £30m share buyback.

Infrastructure and construction group Kier said trading at the start of its current financial year was trading slightly ahead of expectations as it reported a 15% jump in profit for the 12 months to June 30.

Pre-tax earnings came in at £78.1m while Kier's order book rose 2% to a record £11bn. On an adjusted basis, profit rose 3% to £125m.

"Kier remains well positioned to ... benefit from the UK government's 10-year Infrastructure Strategy spending commitments," the company said on Tuesday.

Hays and PageGroup tumbled after FTSE 100 peer SThree tumbled after the recruiter maintained its profit outlook for FY25 but cut guidance for FY26 as it reported a drop in third-quarter net fees and said overall new business activity was set to remain challenging.

Market Movers

FTSE 250 - Risers

Trustpilot Group (TRST) 223.00p 11.17% Kier Group (KIE) 205.00p 6.77% Chemring Group (CHG) 593.00p 3.67% Energean (ENOG) 882.50p 3.16% Pollen Street Group Limited (POLN) 900.00p 2.74% B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 249.30p 2.13% Genus (GNS) 2,565.00p 1.99% Dr. Martens (DOCS) 91.90p 1.94% Ibstock (IBST) 137.00p 1.78% Wickes Group (WIX) 200.00p 1.63%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 325.40p -2.87% Barr (A.G.) (BAG) 680.00p -2.86% W.A.G Payment Solutions (EWG) 102.50p -2.84% PPHE Hotel Group Ltd (PPH) 1,330.00p -2.78% Hays (HAS) 55.55p -2.71% Serco Group (SRP) 217.80p -2.68% 4Imprint Group (FOUR) 3,205.00p -2.29% Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) 158.60p -2.28% Pagegroup (PAGE) 223.00p -2.28% Auction Technology Group (ATG) 323.50p -2.12%