Three important things you need to know from across the markets this morning from investment writer, Tony Cross.
A first half trading update from Revolution Bars showed that party-goers were flooding back in the peak pre-Christmas run up and sales were at their best levels since before the pandemic. However the cost of living crisis is biting and whilst their target demographic may be experiencing outsized wage increases, this isn’t filtering through and is elevating staff costs, too. EBITDA forecasts for the full year are looking a lot less optimistic as a result and the shares were down by more than 20% in morning trade.
Miners found cause for cheer this morning with a Q4 production report out of Fresnillo helping drive the stock towards the top of the FTSE-100 leader board. Better still however is the optimism out of China that significant stimulus measures will be deployed in a move that has the potential to revive wider support for the sector as Beijing looks to buy its way out of a stalling economy.
Shares in the budget airline easyJet may have slumped back in October as the Gaza conflict erupted and whilst today’s Q1 earnings release shows that demand has remained subdued off the back of this, there are strong hopes for the year ahead. Most notably, holiday bookings are seen as being particularly hot, with the period seeing a 48% increase in customers YoY and a 131% uptick in profits. The momentum here is set to be maintained, with management acknowledging that revenue per seat forecasts for the second half of the year are currently well ahead of the comparative. The stock jumped 4% at the open and has consolidated those early gains - at least for now.
