FTSE 100 movers: Centrica, Rio slide on results; Relx rallies

(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 100 was down 0.8% at 10,602.33 in afternoon trade on Thursday, dragged lower by Centrica and Rio Tinto. Centrica tumbled after the British Gas owner said it was pausing its share buyback programme as it reported a decline in full-year operating profit in a "challenging environment", with guidance from the energy firm also disappointing.

In the year to the end of December 2025, operating profit fell to £814m from £1.5bn the year before, while adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation dropped to £1.4bn from £2.3bn.

Rio Tinto was also under the cosh as it posted a 14% drop in full-year net profit as weak steel demand in China hit iron ore earnings, despite better prices for copper and gold. The company, which recently abandoned merger talks with rival Glencore, said net profit came in at $9.97bn in 2025 compared with $11.55bn a year earlier.

EasyJet and Barclays both fell as they traded without entitlement to the dividend.

Building materials group CRH was in the red despite reporting a rise in full-year profit and revenue and striking an upbeat tone on the outlook for 2026.

Relx and Experian - both of which sold off sharply recently due to worries about AI disruption - were among the top performers.

Mondi also gained even as the paper and packaging group slashed its dividend after a 29% slump in annual profits in 2025, as it pointed to further declines in paper prices over the first quarter as a prolonged cyclical downturn continues across the sector.



FTSE 100 - Risers

Relx plc (REL) 2,345.00p 4.97% Mondi (MNDI) 958.00p 3.63% Experian (EXPN) 2,595.00p 1.72% BP (BP.) 476.95p 1.59% Diageo (DGE) 1,787.00p 1.48% Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 3,840.00p 1.35% LondonMetric Property (LMP) 214.60p 1.32% Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (DI) (CCEP) 7,850.00p 1.29% Beazley (BEZ) 1,226.00p 1.24% Compass Group (CPG) 2,206.00p 1.19%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Centrica (CNA) 186.00p -5.10% Rio Tinto (RIO) 7,087.00p -4.09% Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,855.00p -3.63% Anglo American (AAL) 3,530.00p -3.58% easyJet (EZJ) 475.50p -3.41% SSE (SSE) 2,523.00p -3.11% CRH (CDI) (CRH) 8,928.00p -3.10% InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 141.00p -2.79% Barclays (BARC) 472.60p -2.77% Melrose Industries (MRO) 664.80p -2.49%