EasyJet full year profits plunge
EasyJet (LON:EZJ) delivered its full year results in line with expectations on Tuesday, though headline profit before tax plunged compared to the year prior.
Shares in the low cost airline were up during Tuesday morning trading.
The airline posted its results “against the background of a difficult year”.
EasyJet revealed that headline profit before tax declined 26% to £427 million.
The airline emphasised, however, that this figure does lie towards the top end of its £420-430 million guidance range.
For the year ending 30 September, passenger numbers grew by 8.6% to 96.1 million.
Total revenue was up by 8.3% amounting to £6.4 billion, compared to the £5.9 billion figure recorded the year prior.
EasyJet said that total revenue per seat declined by 1.8% to £60.81, driven by weak consumer confidence.
However, the low-cost airline said that this was offset by the positive impact from strikes at British Airways (LON:IAG) and Ryanair (LON:RYA).
“More customers than ever are coming to easyJet as their airline of choice, with a record 96.1 million customers flying with us this year,” Johan Lundgren, EasyJet Chief Executive, commented on the results.
“We have also invested in tackling disruption for our customers through our Operational Resilience programme, which has reduced cancellations by 46% and lowered delays of 3 hours or more by 24% year on year,” EasyJet’s Chief Executive continued.
The company also revealed in its full year results that it will be launching a package holidays business, after having identified a “significant opportunity” in this area.
Thomas Cook collapsed just a few months ago.
Johan Lundgren said: “I am really thrilled that with the launch, before Christmas, of our brand new easyJet Holidays business we are bringing flexibility and excellent value to the holiday market. We are now able to offer our customers more than 100 amazing beach and city holiday destinations, pairing Europe’s best short-haul flight network with more than 5,000 of Europe’s best hotels. We believe there is a gap in the market for a modern, relevant and flexible business for today’s consumer.”
Johan Lundgren claimed that EasyJet will be “the world’s first major airline to operate net-zero carbon flights across our whole network”.
“We are doing this by offsetting the carbon emissions from the fuel used for all of our flights,” the Chief Executive explained.
Shares in EasyJet plc (LON:EZJ) were up on Tuesday trading at +4.07% as of 08:59 GMT.
Markets muted by slow trade deal progress
Markets have finally given in to realism and assumed a stance of limited optimism in regard to any potential Sino-US trade deal.
After appearing to happily chase the story in regard to trade war and tariff progress over the last few months, markets now seem ready to concede that any friendly chatter between the two isn’t worth reading into. If we have learned anything from the failed attempts to-date: if Trump’s bravado and ego hold out, do not expect China to come crawling to the POTUS for a deal.
Following the non-news of trade deal progress, US and UK indices were muted as markets closed on Monday.
Speaking on market movements, Spreadex Financial Analyst Connor Campbell commented,
“The Dow Jones paused on Monday, unable to strike the fresh record highs promised pre-open.”
“The US index lurked under 28000 after the bell, news of ‘constructive discussions’ between Washington and Beijing over the phone on Saturday morning failing to impress investors. Given its current levels, the Dow may need something a bit more substantial from the superpowers if it is to level-up once again.”
“The FTSE echoed its American peer, the index sitting pretty much unchanged the wrong side of 7300. That it avoided a serious loss, however, is notable considering sterling’s gains. With the Tories currently on track for a majority after December’s election, the pound added 0.4% against the dollar and 0.2% against the euro.”
“In comparison to the UK and US, the Eurozone was in a real bad mood on Monday. The DAX and CAC fell 0.6% apiece, take the German index to 13150 and the French bourse under 5900.”
On the whole, markets were also left deflated by Saudi Aramco’s decision to revise the ambition on their IPO and the UK property market uncertainty. European indices were also weighed down by Volkswagen (ETR: VOW3) highlighting a gloomy outlook for 2019, despite Airbus SE (EPA: AIR) winning a $30 billion order for 170 aircraft.
Koovs shares sink amid stalling financial investment talks
Koovs PLC (LON: KOOV) have seen their shares sink across Monday trading, amid talks between shareholders over a major financial investment.
Shares of Koovs sunk 29.6% to 2p on Monday. 18/11/19 15:04BST.
The India focused online fashion retailer said that it continued to negotiate with major shareholder Future Lifestyle Fashions Ltd (NSE: FLFL) for completing its £6.5 million investment.
Future Lifestyle Fashions is a subsidiary of Indian retail giant Future Group (NSE: FRETAIL).
FLFL holds a 26% in Koovs, and have previously invested £250,000 for 881,523 preference shares valued at 28.36 pence each.
The terms of this investment outline that these shares will convert to ordinary shares in June 2020.
The capital infusion was paused after the Reserve Bank of India asked FLFL to reapply for approval before any further subscriptions are made.
“FLFL has confirmed to the company that it is in the process of reapplying for approval of the investment from the Reserve Bank of India and that it remains committed to honouring the investment,” Koovs said.
Koovs also said that it is “actively considering all other financing alternatives available to it.” The company currently has cash reserves of around £2.2 million which is sufficient for 2019.
In the fashion and retail industry, competitors have seen shares become volatile after periods of uncertain and tough trading. Laura Ashely (LON: ALY) saw their shares dip after their Finance Chief left, additionally Superdry (LON: SDRY) informed shareholders of an annual loss back in July. There is a chance however, that FLFL will see potential in this investment as Koovs have experienced a solid few months of trading. Koovs in late October reported impressive fundamentals in their second quarter update, despite the ongoing uncertainty investment. The Group’s headline figure was its 100% year-on-year gross order value growth, from £2.5 million to £5.0 million, which may give enough appetite to FLFL to see out the remainder of the investment which was originally planned.Amur Minerals shares jump after repayment of convertible loan
Amur Minerals Corporation (LON: AMC) have seen their shares jump after the company announced repayment of its convertible loan.
The loan taken was valued at $853,000 and Amur confirmed on Monday afternoon that this had been paid back to Riverfort Global Opportunities PLC (LON: RGO) and YA II PN Ltd.
Shares jumped 13.76% on Monday afternoon to 2p. 18/11/19 14:54BST.
“The investment and support provided by Riverfort since February 2018 enabled Amur to continue the development of the project with the successful completion of the 2018 drill season, and the initiation of our current TEO feasibility study work programme,” said Chief Executive Robin Young.
“The company was also able to complete the acquisition of the bulk samples for metallurgical test work, hydrological and rock mechanic drilling in 2018, all of which form important inputs into the TEO report,” added Young.
Only two weeks ago, Amur Minerals announced that they would raise funds through a share subscription. The firm announced that they would raise £1.2 million in order to pay a segment of the convertible loan that was fully repaid today.
“The fundraise strengthens the company’s financial position as we continue our work on the TEO workstreams, and the follow on DFS, and will update the market with the progress of these various workstreams as and when appropriate,” Chief Executive Officer Robin Young said.At at time where competitors such as Serabi (LON:SRB) boat strong production figures for their third quarter, this will come as a relief for shareholders.
Additionally, Resolute Mining Limited (LON: RSG) saw bumper fundamentals in the first half of 2019 with their trading update.
There may been long term benefits for investor who stuck with Amur Minerals. Although the firm is still finding its feet in the market, Amur did show its resilient nature in paying off a significant debt.
Shareholders can remain optimistic about future outlook, as this could be a diamond for investors. Amur still has a long way to prove its credentials to both shareholders and the market, however these are steps in the right direction.
Feedback Plc launches Bleepa pilot study
Feedback Plc (LON: FDBK) have updated shareholders about a new trial with Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS for its new medical communication platform, Bleepa.
Shares of Feedback plc (LON: FDBK) are trading at 1p. 18/11/19 14:34BST.
In the medical and pharmaceuticals sector, the big names have continued to dominate headlines. Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) have smashed analyst and market expectations. Additionally, British rival GSK (LON: GSK) raised their annual profit forecast following a strong quarterly update.Bleepa is a platform which enables clinicians to access medical grade images through smartphones, tablets and desktop computers.
Shareholders can be optimistic, as it seems that the NHS have bought into the Bleepa software after agreeing a trial deal.
Feedback added that the trial is set to go live in December, and last for approximately three months to allow a full review of the system.
Seniority at Feedback anticipated that the pilot will be extended to include other clinical teams within the Trust, and expects diversification into the Orthopaedic and Vascular sector.
Dr Tom Oakley, CEO of Feedback, commented:
“Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust is a renowned adopter of new technology given its status as a GDE Fast follower site, and we look forward to working with the team on our first pilot study of Bleepa®. We believe that Bleepa will accelerate the process of requesting a specialist opinion from colleagues, ultimately resulting in better care for patients, faster.
“The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust pilot study is our first, but with the interest we have received since the launch of Bleepa at the NHS Expo 2019 in September, we anticipate more to follow.”
Libby Woodcock, EPR Transformation Manager of Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, commented:
“Transforming clinical services by providing digital enablement is always high on our agenda and we are excited to be involved.”
Dr Georges Ng Man Kwong, Consultant Chest Physician and CCIO of Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, commented:
“Bleepa is addressing a direct clinical challenge to better support our busy respiratory clinicians (at the Royal Oldham Hospital) by improving referral process and patient care. Each referral requires rapid and reliable access to radiology images and clinical handover information, and a means of messaging referring teams and documenting outcome. Bleepa has the potential to bring this together for our clinicians and therefore for our patients. We are delighted to be involved with this innovation solution.”
This morning in the medical sector, it was also reported that Consort Medical (LON: CSRT) had merged with Swedish based Recipharm (STO: RECI-B).Feedback have also said the strategic review for its TexRAD medical image analysis technology has needed further developments to support a US Food & Drug Administration submission.
“We have made some product modifications to TexRAD Research in response to customer feedback and are evaluating the impact of these on revenue. In the near term, we will continue to sell TexRAD within the research setting through third party distributors which provides a more cost-effective avenue for maintaining our sales efforts. As a result, we have reduced the resources associated with TexRAD,” said Oakley.
Bezeq Tel shares dip following third quarter update
Bezeq Tel (TLV: BEZQ) have seen their shares dip following a modest trading update released to shareholders on Monday.
Shares in the Israeli telecoms firm dipped 0.28% on Monday to ILS286. 18/11/19 14:10BST.
The firm reported a larger than expected fall in third quarter profit, and informed shareholders that it expected a large 2019 loss.
Bezeq Tel alluded to two major write downs of its business units as one of the main reasons for the loss expected in financial 19. Israel’s largest telecom provider is currently undergoing a change of ownership which has led to operational and structural changes.
The firm reported a profit of ILS191 million, down from the 2018 figure of ILS234 million, additionally this was short of analyst expectations of ILS198 million.
As well as the write downs of its business units, Bezeq reported the higher financing expenses contributing to the poor update.
Revenue fell 2.3% to ILS2.25 billion, which did beat analyst expectations of ILS2.23 billion.
The company maintained its forecast for 2019, expecting a net loss of ILS1.1 billion.
Bezeq is in the midst of a major restructuring with several parallel early retirement plans and cost-cutting measures,” Barclays (LON: BARC) analyst Tavy Rosner said. “These are starting to pay off, as demonstrated by the 4% decrease in salaries.”
“We hope that the new policy that will be formulated will enable us to launch fibre optic services for the private sector in Israel on an economic basis,” CEO David Mizrahi said in a statement.
Bezeq have seemingly lapsed behind industry competitors such as Cellcom (NYSE: CEL) and Partner Communications (TLV: PTNR) who have released their own fibre networks. Bezeq have been locked in a deal to try and push their fibre network but negotiations stalled when Bezeq were unwilling to meet demands it provide the service for 100% of the country. In the global telecoms industry, BT (LON: BT.A) have hit headlines after Labour announced on Friday that they planned to nationalize the firm as part of their 2019 election manifesto. Additionally, TalkTalk (LON: TALK) and Spirent Communications (LON: SPT) gave shareholders a positive update on Friday.Volkswagen shares dip after confirmed 2019 outlook
Volkswagen (ETR: VOW3) have seen their shares dip after a statement was issued on Monday identifying a gloomy annual outlook.
Shares of Volkswagen dipped 3.95% to €175 on Monday. 18/11/19 13:46BST.
At the end of October, it was reported that Volkswagen’s sales revenue and profit grew between January and September.
Despite the positivity, seniority do not seem so confident on the full year guidance for the german automobile firm.
Volkswagen highlighted that in 2020 operating profit will remain between 6.5 and 7.5%.
We are continuing to pursue our ambitious strategic financial targets for 2020 and 2025,” Frank Witter, the member of the Volkswagen Group Board of Management responsible for Finance and IT.
Frank Witter said: “The Volkswagen Group remains very robust in the face of increasingly difficult economic conditions. However, we will have to apply systematic cost discipline to reach our long-term goals.” Witter concluded “We also confirm our outlook for 2019,”.
Volkswagen join Nissan (TYO: 7201) in a list of firms who have been pessimistic on their guidance for 2019 amid tough market conditions.
In a time where the global automobile market has experienced a slowdown, it seems that seniority at Volkswagen are feeling the slump.
Volkswagen have indeed given better updates compared to rivals, where the German firm have seen both profit and revenue gains.
Global rival such as Suzuki (TYO: 7269) have not been so lucky, seeing major slumps in Indian business. Whilst firms have attempted to combat slow business through mergers, as seen with Fiat Chrysler (NYSE: FCAU) and Peugeot (EPA: UG).
The continued saga between the UK and European Union has affected trading in the car industry, the fact that Volkswagen have not mentioned that they plan to exceed guidance may be a warning to shareholders about tougher tests in the future. The first step in solving the ongoing Brexit negotiations is the general election on the 12th December, and like many British and European firms there is a hope that Britains status with the EU can be clarified as soon as possible. It seems that after last week’s positive update from the German firm, shareholder are remaining somewhat optimistic in tough trading conditions.H&T shares sink following regulator investigation
H&T Group Plc (LON: HAT) have seen their shares sink after the FCA triggered an investigation into ‘certain aspects and files’.
The FCA pledged to look into the companies high-cost short term credit (HCSTC) and unsecured loans business.
The review is focussing on H&T’s creditworthiness assessments and lending processes for HCSTC loans in light of new rule changes over affordability assessments, it said today.
Shares of H&T have sunk 16.99% during Monday trading to 307p. 18/11/19 13:27BST.
H&T confirmed to shareholders that it has temporarily ceased all HCSTC operations due to the ongoing investigation.
For financial 2019, H&T expected revenues from HCSTC unsecured lending to total less than 4% of total group revenue.
The FCA review is focusing on H&T’s creditworthiness assessments and lending processes for HCSTC loans, in light of regulatory changes.
H&T said it is cooperating with FCA and the review will result in changes to its policies and procedures relating to the provision of unsecured HCSTC loans.
H&T have said that they will also review historical lending practices to look into any issuances of customer redress.If redress applies, then the firm will fund it from existing financial resources.
In spite of the FCA review, H&T said that it continues “to trade well and in line with the dynamics set out in its statement of 30 September 2019.”
Clearly the market reputation of H&T is at risk here, and shareholder’s will be concerned about whether the FCA will impose any regulatory fines onto the the UK based pawnbroker. In October, it was announced that H&T had acquired Albemarle & Bond Pledge Books in an £8 million deal, which pleased shareholders. “This is an exciting transaction and enables us to cement our position as the UK’s leading pawnbroker. Our immediate focus is to do everything we can to support A&B’s customers,” said H&T Chief Executive John Nichols.