Germanwings owner Lufthansa’s profits soar

0
Deutsche Lufthansa (ETR:LHA) reported net earnings this morning of 529 million euros for the last quarter, a rise of 356 million euros on last year. The company, which includes airlines such as Swiss, Austrian and Germanwings, attributed the rise to a fall in fuel costs and confirmed its full-year outlook for adjusted pre-tax earnings of over 1.5 billion euros before strike costs. However, the second quarter saw no strikes by Lufthansa’s pilots although a long-running dispute that has led to repeated disruptions.
These results come just after the airline announced it is to introduce a 16 euro booking fee for customers booking through third party sites; a bold move for a company that sells around 70% of their tickets through agents. The airline hope that it will allow them to have more control over their prices and save around 100 million euros.
Lufthansa have signed up to Concur’s TripLink, a product that allows business travellers to book tickets at their discounted corporate rate directly via Lufthansa’s own website. “If Lufthansa succeeds in providing a seamless booking platform, which not only retains but also helps to expand its customer base, one can expect a very successful outcome from this radical change,” Euromonitor senior travel analyst Nadejda Popova said to Reuters.

Renault reports jump in profits

Paris-based carmaker Renault (EPA:RNO) reported a jump in first-half profits this morning, hitting its highest operating margin in a decade at 4.8%. Whilst the company failed to top rival Peugeot’s results, who reported a first-half profit for the first time since 2011, earnings were still better than expected by analysts; up 47 per cent in the first six months at €1.07bn. Revenues came in at €22.2bn, up 12 per cent on the prior year. Under Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn, Renault is stepping up productivity and technology sharing with 43.4 percent-owned Nissan and Daimler as well as gearing up to launch new products. Analysts expect Renault to reap the benefits in the second half of the year. The positive earnings results from automakers such as Peugeot and Renault bode well for Ferrari, who have just filed for IPO on the NYSE.

Ferrari IPO Special Report

Ferrari IPO: What you need to know

The most exciting IPO of 2015 is just around the corner.

You could soon own a piece of Ferrari.

Opportunities like this don’t come along often.

Inside you’ll discover:

  • Ferrari’s long-term prospects

  • Why demand is expected to be high

  • How you can get involved

It’s due to start in just a matter of days!

There’s no time to waste

Best regards,
The Galvan research team

 

 

Download the Ferrari IPO Report for free.
A copy will be sent to you immediately.

Html code here! Replace this with any non empty text and that's it.

Galvan Research And Trading Limited
Authorised and regulated by The Financial Conduct Authority

Registered Office:

CMA House, Newham Road, Truro, Cornwall, TR1 2SU
Company No: 05054098

Risk warning

All investments are speculative and prices may change quickly and go down as well as up. There is an extra risk of losing money when shares are bought in some smaller companies including “penny shares”. There can be a big difference between the buying price and the selling price of these shares and if they have to be sold immediately, you may get back much less than you paid for them or in some circumstances, it may be difficult to sell at any price.

Trading in Contracts for Difference (CFDs) and forex may not be suitable for all investors due to the high risk nature of the products. You may lose all of your initial stake through the use of leverage and may be required to make additional payments by way of margin on a frequent and sometimes daily basis. Failure to do so can result in the closure of part or all of your position.

The value of a CFD or forex may be affected by a variety of factors, including but not limited to, price volatility, market volume, foreign exchange rates and liquidity. CFDsand forex are short term trading tools. Commissions on CFDs are charged on the leveraged amount (not the deposit) and therefore costs can build up when frequently traded. You should evaluate potential losses against affordability. Extended runs of losses as well as profits can occur.

Past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance. If in any doubt, please seek further independent advice. Tax laws may be subject to change.

Privacy notice

By registering your details, you request us hereby to provide you on a continuing basis (in writing, email and by telephone) with investor updates, information on our own products and services and those of selected partners and third parties. To enable us to do so, and for our marketing purposes, you agree that we may process and hold your data in both manual and electronic form. You are free to “unsubscribe” from this service at any time. Should you wish to ask about the information we hold concerning you, you are invited to contact us at the above address. At no time will we provide your personal data to any other company except to our own associates, affiliates or agents. This notice is issued by Galvan Research And Trading Limited in accordance with the UK Data Protection Act. Be aware our telephone lines may be recorded or monitored for training purposes. To read our Privacy Notice in full please visit our website.

Lord Rothschild and Neil Woodford jump into crowdfunding

Lord Rothschild and fund manager Neil Woodford have become the latest people to invest in Seedrs, leading a £10m investment round to fund the platform’s further expansion. Seedrs is Europe’s leading crowdfunding platform, allowing anyone to invest in businesses with as little as £10. It recently partnered with British Tennis legend Andy Murray to raise brand awareness and the firm has been growing at a rate of 15% month-on-month, leading the sector with 110 successfully funded campaigns. It was recently named by KPMG as one of the world’s 50 best fintech innovators. Augmentum Capital, founded Tim Levene and Richard Matthews, and Neil Woodford’s Patient Capital Trust are investing £7.5m into Seedrs, and a further £2.5m will be offered to existing shareholders and other individual investors through a campaign on the platform to achieve the total of £10m. Jeff Lynn, Seedrs co-founder and CEO, said he was “absolutely thrilled” to have Woodford and Rothchild involved. “The greatest fund manager of our time and the greatest financial family in history have looked at the equity crowdfunding space, decided that there is a huge opportunity to be won, and decided that Seedrs is the one that’s going to win it,” Lynn said. Augmentum Capital managing partner Tim Levene added: ‘We have been following the developments in equity crowdfunding for some time and believe Seedrs are the stand out company. ‘The market is still early in its development with many challenges to overcome. However, we believe Seedrs have the right blend of talent, vision, experience and rigour to ensure they become the leader in this exciting space.” Seedrs acquired California-based Junction Investments in October last year in an attempt to break into the US market, and it is believed that some of the £10m will be used for further expansion in the States, as well as marketing here and in Europe.

Schroders report strong Q2 earnings

London-based asset management company Schroders (LON:SDR) released their quarterly earnings this morning, seeing profits climb 24% in the first half of the year on net inflows of £8.8 billion. The company’s pre-tax profits rose to £290.3 million, up from £233.9 million over the same period last year. Revenue increased 11% to £806.2 million. CEO Michael Dobson commented that “net inflows were particularly strong in fixed income and, regionally, in Asia Pacific and Continental Europe.” Net revenue at the wealth management arm of the business rose 5% to £105.5 million, with pre-tax profit following the trend and rising 14%. Their total assets under management also rose by 14%. On the back of the results, management lifted the dividend from 24p to 29p per share, and Schroders are currently trading up 1.53%.

Sony show positive results as it plans expansion

0
Sony Corp (NYSE:SNE) reported a profit of 82.5bn yen this morning – triple that of in the last quarter – and an operating profit rise of 39%, far higher than expected by analysts. Sony attributed the positive figures to a renewed focus on sensor chips and video games, after moving away from phones and electronics. These figures mark the beginning of an expansion phase for a company that have posted losses for six of the past seven years. Sony plans to raise $3.4 billion selling stock and convertible bonds to help pay for a fourfold increase in semiconductor spending as it also invests in video game network services and virtual reality gear. This quarter’s results include 4.7bn yen of insurance recoveries “related to losses incurred from the cyber-attack on Sony’s network services including the PlayStation Network” in the 2011-12 financial year, the company said in a statement on Thursday. “Market expectations for Sony have changed to now anticipate growth,” Kazunori Ito, an analyst at Barclays Plc in Tokyo, said prior to the earnings release. “The PS4 had an excellent start and is now at a point where Sony is expected to begin reaping the benefits.” Sales were flat in the period from a year ago, down 0.1% to 1.8tn yen, but it expects to return to profit in the 2015-16 financial year for the first time in three years. The company are currently trading up 1.09%.

Jeremy Clarkson heads online with Amazon Prime

0
The controversial ex-host of BBC’s Top gear Jeremy Clarkson has signed a deal for a new version of the show with Amazon Prime’s Instant Video. Co-presenters James May and Richard Hammond will follow Clarkson to the online video site, after ruling out working on BBC’s new series of Top Gear hosted by DJ Chris Evans. The deal is quite the coup for Amazon and will propel them into the realms of mainstream TV, beating off online competitor Netflix and several big broadcasting channels to win the rights. No financial details have been released, although an Amazon insider has confirmed that they have made a “significant investment.” The show was confirmed by Jeremy Clarkson this morning, in a tweet saying “I am excited to announce that Hammon, May and I have made a deal with Amazon Video.” Clarkson was fired from the BBC show after a high-profile ‘fracas’ over catering arrangements on set in Yorkshire, where Clarkson reportedly hit one of the producers. Since then, there has been considerable speculation as to where he would head next. Clarkson has previously spoken of his regret at leaving the BBC, but said today that he feels as if he has “climbed out of a bi-plane and into a spaceship.” Amazon won the global rights to the new series, meaning it will appear on Prime video in the U.S., U.K., Austria and Germany. Amazon can also license rights to the show to broadcasters or streaming services in other territories around the world where Prime video isn’t available

RBS surprises with rise in net profit for last quarter

RBS (LON:RBS) have reported a £153 million half-yearly loss this morning, but a surprising net profit rise for the three months to the end of June. The £153 million loss for the six months to the end of June compares with a £1.43 billion profit a year ago. Restructuring costs tripled, and the bank set aside £1.3bn for lawsuits and customer compensation. This comes after the bank were fined £390 million for failing to prevent market manipulation by traders involved in the Libor scandal. Another £459m was earmarked mainly for litigation costs in the second quarter. Finance Minister George Osborne has said that the government planned to sell at least three-quarters of its 78 percent stake in the bank, and begin the process as soon as possible. The sale is likely to begin in September. “The bank is in much better shape than it was even 12 months ago and it’s given the government the confidence to say this is a bank we can start selling off. The timing itself is up to the government,” Chief Executive Ross McEwan told reporters. Shares in RBS hit their highest price in a month and were up 3.5 percent at 356.60 pence per share.

AstraZeneca perform better than expected in Q2

AstraZeneca plc (LON:AZN) announced their quarterly earnings this morning, with revenue falling by a better-than-expected 7 percent in the second quarter. Second-quarter net income fell 12 percent to $697 million as competition from generic drug companies reduced sales. Stomach-acid treatment Nexium lost patent exclusivity in the U.S. and cholesterol treatment Crestor faced competition from generic drugs. CEO Pascal Soriot, who recently fended off a $118 billion takeover attempt by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) says the company made “good progress” in the period. AstraZeneca has recently received regulatory approvals for new lung cancer drug Iressa in the U.S. and breast cancer treatment Faslodex in China. Quarterly sales totalled $6.3 billion, while core earnings per share fell 8 percent to $1.21. AstraZeneca are currently trading up 2.36%, at 4290 pence per share.

Ferrari files for NYSE IPO

1
Ferrari has filed for an initial public offering, with plans to list around 10% of its shares on the New York Stock Exchange. The exact share number and price has not yet been disclosed by the company, who is 90% owned by Fiat Chrysler Automotives; who have one of the highest debts in the industry. The company plans to use the funds from the flotation to help finance its plan to boost sales by 60 percent by 2018. The other 10% is owned by Piero Ferarri, the son of Ferrari’s founder. The company will be floated in New York, and may seek a secondary listing in Milan. Share price of Ferrari will depend strongly on the performance of their Formula 1 team, Scuderia Ferrari. They also receive a high income from sponsorship, commercial and brand, which covers merchandising, licensing and royalty income. Share performance may be further affected by the company’s loyalty voting program, which seeks to reward shareholders who are willing to hold their shares for at least three years with special voting shares.