Bosses also blasted a “ridiculous tax” levied on the industry

Wine bottling firm Greencroft Bottling has blamed disruption in the Suez Canal for marring what would have been an exceptional year.

The County Durham-based business, which claims to be one of the most sustainable large contract firms of its type “on the planet” said temporary closure of the key waterway in 2024 impacted otherwise brilliant results. Attacks by Houthi Rebels on shipping in the Red Sea caused a drastic reduction in traffic through the canal, which Greencroft says caused “havoc” – leading to millions of pounds of penalties and other costs as huge volumes of wine hit North East ports over a two week period.

Despite the challenges, Greencroft, which is part of the Lanchester Group, managed to increase operating profits from £1.56m to £2.78m in the year to the end of June, 2025. Newly published documents also show turnover at the 300-strong firm increased from £62.5m to £86m.

With a £20m new production facility called Greencroft 2 now completed at its Annfield Plain base, and significant investments in sustainability measures, the firm is now looking ahead to what it expects to be its best ever year. Together with a new semi-automated warehouse, the new production facility – with the potential for 400million litres of capacity annually – is expected to make the company the “most efficient wine bottling and storage operation certainly in the UK if not in Europe”.

Bosses also looked forward to the benefits of bulk wine shipping, which is said to be better for the product and give the business high volumes. The new premises, powered by wind and solar energy, has the potential to handle the equivalent of 28% of all wine sold in the UK.

Writing in the Greencroft Bottling Company Limited accounts, managing director Mark Satchwell said: “Greencroft Bottling Company has had an excellent year with volume increasing by well over 20% which is amazing considering we have had such a turbulent year here in the UK, the new 18,000 an hour filling line in Greencroft 2 has been integrated into the business and working well and we have invested in more automation in our tank facility increasing our efficiency more than 40%.

“We continue to invest in the business with more automation to keep our cost base as low as possible the new Labour Government increased wine duty massively again this year after to huge 20% rise just 12 months ago, this is really harming the whole industry with duty alone moving up by nearly 40% over the last 15 months.

“And we have Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) to contend with yet another ridiculous tax on all businesses, but the liquor and hospitality industries have been the hardest hit it seems and not surprisingly there is at least one pub a day closing which is really harming the local communities.”

DALLAS — Texas Instruments Inc. shares skyrocketed more than 18% Thursday after the analog chip giant crushed Wall Street expectations for the first quarter and issued upbeat guidance fueled by surging demand from data centers and industrial customers.

The stock (NASDAQ: TXN) opened at $260.76 and climbed as high as $281.11 in morning trading on April 23, up about $44 from Wednesday’s close of $236.31. Volume surged well above average as investors cheered the strongest quarterly report in years from the Dallas-based semiconductor leader.

Texas Instruments reported first-quarter revenue of $4.83 billion, a 19% jump from the year-ago period and well above analysts’ consensus estimate of around $4.53 billion. Earnings per share came in at $1.68, smashing estimates of $1.36 and marking a 31% increase year-over-year.

“Our results reflect broad-based strength across our markets, particularly in industrial and enterprise systems,” said Haviv Ilan, chairman, president and CEO, in prepared remarks. The company highlighted robust performance in its core Analog segment, which generated $3.92 billion in revenue, up 22% year-over-year.

The Embedded Processing segment also contributed, posting $723 million in revenue, up 12%. Operating profit rose 37% to $1.81 billion, underscoring improved margins amid recovering demand.

Investors appeared particularly encouraged by the company’s forward-looking outlook. Texas Instruments guided for second-quarter revenue between $5.00 billion and $5.40 billion, with a midpoint of $5.20 billion that tops consensus forecasts. EPS guidance of $1.77 to $2.05 also exceeded expectations.

Analysts quickly responded with a wave of upgrades and price target hikes. Bank of America upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral and raised its target to $320 from $235. Other firms including Baird, Rosenblatt, KeyBanc, Jefferies and Barclays followed suit with significant increases, pushing average targets well above $250.

“This is more than just data-center tailwinds,” one analyst noted. While AI-driven server demand helped, strength in industrial applications and steady automotive recovery played key roles. TI did not cite rising prices as a major factor but signaled potential increases later in the year.

The results come as the broader semiconductor industry navigates a recovery phase. Texas Instruments, long known for its focus on analog chips used in everything from industrial equipment to cars and consumer electronics, has benefited from diversification away from the more volatile personal electronics segment.

Founded in 1930, Texas Instruments remains a cornerstone of American semiconductor manufacturing. The company has aggressively expanded its internal production capacity, supported in part by CHIPS Act incentives. Trailing 12-month free cash flow reached $4.35 billion, up 154% year-over-year.

Shareholder returns remain robust. The board recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.42 per share, payable in May. Over the past year, TI has returned more than $6 billion to shareholders through dividends and buybacks.

Wall Street’s reaction reflected relief after months of cautious sentiment around cyclical recovery in chips. TI shares had already climbed more than 60% year-to-date entering the report, but Thursday’s move pushed the stock to fresh all-time highs and underscored confidence in sustained growth.

Industry observers point to several tailwinds. Data center buildouts for AI training and inference continue at a rapid pace, boosting demand for power management and signal chain products where TI holds leading positions. Industrial automation, factory upgrades and electrification trends provide additional support.

Challenges remain. The company has faced headwinds in personal electronics and certain automotive segments tied to China. However, management expressed optimism about inventory normalization and broader market recovery. Capital expenditures are expected to moderate slightly, signaling confidence in existing capacity.

Analysts now forecast full-year growth in the mid-to-high teens, with potential for further upside if industrial markets accelerate. Consensus price targets have risen sharply post-earnings, though some caution that valuation — with a forward P/E around 36-40 — leaves limited room for error.

Texas Instruments’ performance stands in contrast to more AI-centric names that have dominated headlines. Its steady, diversified portfolio has historically provided resilience through cycles, a trait investors rewarded handsomely on Thursday.

Looking ahead, the company will host its annual meeting and continue investing in advanced manufacturing. The pending acquisition of Silicon Labs, announced earlier, aims to bolster its position in embedded wireless connectivity, further diversifying its portfolio.

Market reaction extended beyond TI. Peers in the analog and industrial chip space saw gains, while the broader Nasdaq and semiconductor index traded mixed amid rotation and profit-taking elsewhere.

For investors, Thursday’s surge highlights the power of earnings beats in a market hungry for growth stories grounded in real demand rather than hype. Texas Instruments has delivered eight consecutive quarters of year-over-year growth, positioning it well for what many expect to be a multi-year upcycle in semiconductors.

Company executives struck a balanced tone on the earnings call, acknowledging macro uncertainties but emphasizing execution and long-term structural opportunities in electrification, automation and AI infrastructure. Gross margin stood at approximately 58%, reflecting operational efficiency.

As trading continued Thursday morning, shares consolidated some gains but remained up sharply. The move caps a remarkable run for a stock once viewed as defensive and slow-growing. With data centers and industrial markets firing on multiple cylinders, Texas Instruments appears to have caught the AI wave without abandoning its traditional strengths.

94 properties proposed for 1.03 hectacre Stretford site

Plans to build nearly 100 houses and flats on a site once home to an RAC call centre have been unveiled.

The scheme would see 94 properties built across the 1.03 hectacre Stretford site. They would be a mix of houses and flats, planning documents reveal. All the homes would be classed as ‘affordable’.

The land, off Thomas Street, formed part of the old Stretford Gasworks. After the gasworks closed in the 1960s, it was redeveloped into the Longford Trading Estate.

Plans to create the call centre there were approved in 2000. However, the RAC eventually vacated the land, citing difficulties attracting and retaining staff at the Stretford location as a key reason, according to planning documents. The company relocated its offices to Salford Quays.

The land has stood empty since the building on it was demolished in 2024. Now, developers MCI Developments and JS Hennessey (1999) RBS have put forward plans to bring much of it back into use.

Pre-application discussions with Trafford council considered a much larger scheme. Under those plans, 192 homes would have been built over a 3.4h of land, including additional land to the northwest which the National Grid previously used as a gas holder and depot site.

Council officials raised concerns over the loss of so much employment land, however, and the proposal was scaled back to its current size. The developers said this would allow more employment space to be retained and the site to ‘continue to make an economic contribution’.

They added the ‘cost of remediation’ for the western parcel of land would have ‘rendered the site unviable for residential uses’. The companies consider the delivery of affordable housing sufficient to ‘outweigh’ any ‘adverse impacts’ from the loss of the remaining employment space.

The scheme would see 46 houses and 48 apartments built. These would range from one- and two-bed flats to three- and four-bed town houses. The apartment buildings would be four storeys in height.

Some 94 parking spaces are proposed for residents, with an additional 25 for parking.

Three communal green spaces are also planned. These include a landscaped open space at the edge of the canal, and a space at the centre of the development with ‘rain gardens’ and ‘ornamental tree planting’.

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