easyJet Share News (EZJ)

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following is a summary of top news stories Tuesday.
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COMPANIES
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easyJet said it swung to a loss in the first half of its financial year due to negative movements in foreign exchange rates, and warned about the effect the recent terrorist attacks in Brussels will have on its third-quarter performance, but it increased its dividend payout ratio. The low-cost airline said it suffered a GBP24 million pretax loss in the six months ended March 31, having made a GBP7 million pretax profit in the first half of the prior year. easyJet said it will increase its annual dividend payout ratio to 50% of post-tax income from 40% previously. "We are confident that over the full year we will again grow passenger numbers, revenue and profit," Chief Executive Carolyn McCall said.
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Anglo American said it has chosen Ruben Fernades to lead the company's operations in Brazil as the miner shuffles its management whilst progressing with its restructuring efforts. Fernades will become the chief executive of Anglo American in Brazil from June 20 and his primary focus will be on the company's iron ore operations, including the Minas Rio mine.
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Capita affirmed its organic revenue growth target for 2016 following a solid start to the year. The blue-chip company, which handles back-office tasks on behalf of a range of private and public sector clients, said it has seen increased organic growth in its divisions so far in 2016 and said its bid pipeline provides greater visibility and confidence on the outlook for 2016 as a whole. The group said it is on track to hit its target for 4.0% organic revenue growth in 2016 and is trading in line with market expectations for the full year. Capita said it has secured GBP458.0 million in major contracts in 2016 so far.
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Bovis Homes Group said it is on track to deliver its planned growth for 2016 as sales prices continue to rise and said the upcoming UK vote on EU membership in June has had "no discernible impact" on the business. The housebuilder said the housing market conditions remain positive, with strong demand from home buyers benefiting from good access to mortgage finance and growth in its sales prices, driven by its "improving mix of homes". Bovis said weekly sales rates have improved in recent weeks and in the year to date, it has achieved 0.65 net private reservations per site, in line with a year earlier.
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Builders' merchant and DIY company Grafton Group said it has enjoyed a "broadly positive" start to the year across its end-markets, but noted uncertainty over the outcome of the UK referendum on European Union membership appears to be having a bearing on current activity levels. Grafton said revenue in the four months to the end of April was GBP790.0 million, up 13% from GBP698.0 million for the same period a year earlier. In constant currency this was 12% higher than the same period a year earlier.
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Specialty insurer Hiscox posted a rise in gross written premiums in the first quarter and said it saw a strong performance from all its business segments. Hiscox said gross written premiums in the first quarter grew to GBP640.5 million from GBP561.7 million in the first quarter to the end of March.
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Spirax-Sarco Engineering said trading in the first four months of 2016 broadly matched trends seen in 2015, but said its revenue visibility remains low amid a still-sluggish industrial market. Global industrial production growth has remained at a very low level in the first months of 2016, the company said. Production from developed economies declined but was matched by rising production from emerging markets. Spirax-Sarco, which makes steam management systems and peristaltic pumps, said its Europe, Middle East and Africa markets have remained stable overall, with industrial production growing less than 1.0% but showing a modest pick up in some markets.
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MARKETS
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UK indices were higher with outsoucer Capita leading the gainers. The pound was flat against the dollar after UK trade data. Wall Street was pointed to a higher open.
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FTSE 100: up 0.8% at 6,164.02
FTSE 250: up 0.6% at 16,782.66
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 0.2% at 724.90

GBP: flat at USD1.4459 (USD1.4406)
EUR: down at USD1.1384 (USD1.1405)

GOLD: down at USD1,265.68 per ounce (USD1,266.09)
OIL (Brent): up at USD44.38 a barrel (USD43.83)

(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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The UK visible trade deficit narrowed slightly in March on higher exports, the Office for National Statistics said. The deficit on trade in goods fell to GBP11.2 billion from GBP11.4 billion in February. The expected level of deficit was GBP11.45 billion. Exports increased by GBP0.4 billion and imports rose by GBP0.2 billion. The deficit with EU nations held steady at GBP8.1 billion, while the shortfall with non-EU countries narrowed to GBP3.1 billion from GBP3.4 billion. Meanwhile, the surplus on trade in services increased to GBP7.4 billion in March from GBP7.1 billion in prior month. As a result, the total trade balance that covers goods and services, showed a shortfall of GBP3.8 billion compared to GBP4.3 billion in February.
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The chancellor of the exchequer has issued a stark warning on the threat posed to the UK's financial services industry by a Brexit, battling back after Boris Johnson had heavily criticised warnings by the prime minister about its possible damage to peace and security in the continent, breaking into song as he did so. Chancellor George Osborne warned "tens of thousands" of jobs could go in the UK's financial services industry in the event of a Brexit, claiming 285,000 jobs in the sector are linked to business with Europe. Former London mayor Boris Johnson dismissed Osborne's claims and played down the advantages of the UK's membership of the EU single market. He said Canary Wharf is now bigger than Frankfurt's financial centre and claimed the economic argument for staying in the EU put forward by the Remain camp was "wholly bogus".
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Like-for-like sales in the UK were down 0.9% on year in April, the British Retail Consortium said. That was well shy of forecasts for an increase of 0.5% and it followed the 0.7% decline in March. Overall retail sales were roughly flat on year. "Overall, flat total sales mask a very mixed picture; some retailers benefiting from the healthy housing market, while others are evidently more susceptible to the effects of lower consumer confidence and a higher proportion of disposable income going into leisure and entertainment," said Helen Dickinson, BRC's chief executive.
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Permanent job placements in the UK grew at the weakest pace in seven months in April, the Report on Jobs compiled by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and Markit Economics showed. The number of people placed in permanent jobs rose again in April. However, the rate of growth eased to the lowest since September 2015 amid reports of increased client uncertainty. At the same time, temporary and contract staff billings grew at the strongest rate in thirteen months in April.
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Eurozone finance ministers expressed hope that a deal allowing cash-strapped Greece to tap further bailout aid and ease its debt burden can be reached within the next two weeks but warned that tough work still lies ahead. Athens and its creditors have struggled for months to agree on new reforms and cost-cutting measures that will allow Greece to receive the next tranche of its third, EUR86 billion bailout, fuelling fears that it is headed back towards bankruptcy. But pension cuts and income tax hikes voted by the Greek parliament late Sunday helped reinvigorate the negotiations. Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos described the talks on Monday in Brussels with his eurozone counterparts as "very good" for Greece and Europe.
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China's consumer price inflation remained stable yet again below the government's full-year target in April and producer prices dropped at a slower pace from last year, providing ample space for policy maneuver, official data revealed. Consumer prices climbed 2.3% on a yearly basis for the third straight month in April, the National Bureau of Statistics reported. The annual rate matched economists' expectations and remained below the full-year target of 3%. Another report from the NBS showed that producer prices declined by a less-than-expected 3.4% in April from last year. Economists had forecast prices to decrease 3.7% after easing 4.3% in March.
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Despite heartbreaking scenes of utter destruction, firefighters managed to protect most of the oil town of Fort McMurray in the western Canadian province of Alberta, officials said after touring the devastated town. Alberta Premier Rachel Notley joined with a group of government officials and journalists to see for the first time the destruction caused by the raging wildfire after it roared through Fort McMurray last Tuesday. Notley credited the firefighters' heroism for helping stop the ferocious blaze that was capable of "levelling blocks and blocks of houses."
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Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said she was surprised by the decision of the interim head of the country's House of Deputies to overturn last month's vote by the lower chamber to impeach her. Waldir Maranhao cited procedural mistakes in making his decision to annul the April 17 vote and call for a new vote. Rousseff said on Twitter that she had not officially received the information and did not know the consequences of Maranhao's decision. Opposition parliamentarians said they would go to the Supreme Court to block Maranhao's decision, news portal G1 reported. Pauderney Avelino, a deputy in the lower chamber, said the impeachment is now before the Senate and therefore cannot be reversed by the House.
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Russia and the US vowed to put pressure on both the Syrian government and rebel forces to shore up a crumbling ceasefire after more than two weeks of deadly clashes and airstrikes in the north of the country. A joint statement from the two countries said that Moscow, a close ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, would "work with Syrian authorities" to cut down on air operations over civilian areas. Airstrikes on a hospital and a refugee camp in rebel-held areas of northern Syria in recent weeks killed an estimated 80 people, causing international outrage. The opposition, which has no air force, blamed the government for both strikes.
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By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com; @ArvindBhunjun

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