Shares in easyJet took off this morning after the airline published its quarterly trading update. The stock - and indeed the wider sector - took a hit at the start of the week after Ryanair issued a profit warning and anticipated softer pricing over the summer, but this release highlighted that both passenger numbers and revenue per seat were ticking higher. The holidays division also performed very well with customer numbers rising by a third and pre-tax profits up 49% to £73m. The easyJet share price was 6% higher in early trade.
FTSE-250 listed b2b media play Ascential saw its shares jump at the open on Wednesday following news that the board were recommending shareholders accept a cash offer from Informa. The stock started to gain ground in the latter part of yesterday’s session so today’s jump of 26% only tells part of the story, but the bid premium is now close to being fully priced in. The Ascential share price now sits at 565p, up 58% on the week and just below the proposed offer of 568p.
The luxury car maker published half year results this morning and although the picture isn’t really improving – losses are rising, sales are falling and debt is mounting – investors found some cause for cheer. News of margin improvement and the fact that the new CEO is joining earlier than had been expected in a bid to accelerate turn around plans seems to be lending a degree of support. The Aston Martin share price is up 10% in early trade.
Headlines we expect tomorrow
Unilever Interim Results
This time last year Underlying operating profit €5.2bn, operating margin 17.1%
AstraZeneca Interim Results
This time last year H1 Product sales $21.45bn, Reported EPS $2.34
