easyJet Share News (EZJ)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Airline stocks continued to take centre stage amid a mixed open in London Tuesday.

EasyJet, up 3.4%, and International Consolidated Airlines Group, up 2.1%, lead FTSE 100 gainers.

In a trading update, easyJet said it expects to report a pretax loss of between GBP10 million and GBP30 million in the first half of its financial year, traditionally a slow business period, narrower than the GBP53 million loss it reported in the first half of last year.

Meanwhile, Aer Lingus said its board has indicated to IAG it is willing to recommend the British Airways owners' EUR1.36 billion bid for the Irish airline.

Here is what you need to know at the UK market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: down 0.2% at 6,839.08
FTSE 250: up 0.2% at 16,495.54
AIM ALL-SHARE: down 0.1% at 693.92
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Hang Seng: closed down 0.4% at 24,807.28
Nikkei 225: closed up 1.7% at 17,768.30
DJIA: closed marginally higher at 17,678.70
S&P 500: closed up 0.3% at 2,057.09
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GBP-USD: up at USD1.5091
EUR-USD: up at USD1.1265

GOLD: down at USD1,278.62 per ounce
OIL (Brent): down at USD47.80 a barrel

(changes since end of previous GMT day)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Tuesday's Key Economic Events still to come
(all times in GMT)

09:30 UK Gross Domestic Product
13:30 US Durable Goods Orders
13:55 US Redbook index
14:00 US S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices
14:45 US Markit Composite/Services PMI Preliminary
15:00 US Consumer Confidence
15:00 US New Home Sales
15:00 US Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index
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Leftist leader Alex Tsipras was sworn in as Greece's new prime minister on Monday, hours after clinching a deal with the right-wing Independent Greeks to form an anti-austerity government. President Karolous Papoulias administered the oath in a ceremony at the presidential palace in Athens, shorting after giving Tsipras the mandate to form a government. "I will always look after the best interests of the country," Tsipras told Papoulias. It was a departure from tradition, as the prime minister-designate is usually sworn in by the head of the Greek Orthodox Church. Tsipras is an atheist.
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The eurogroup is ready to work with the new Greek government, but there is very little support for a writedown of debt, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, head of the eurogroup said late Monday. Pointing out that a number of concessions have already been made to Greece, Dijsselbloem said, "Working within the Eurozone means they will comply with all the rules and agreements that we have within the Eurozone, and on that basis, we will support them where we can." He said that the eurozone has supported Greece by reducing interest rates and by allowing longer repayment periods.
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Standard & Poor's Ratings Services downgraded Russia's sovereign credit rating to below investment grade for the first time in more than a decade. S&P cut Russia's sovereign credit rating to "BB+" from "BBB-". The rating outlook is negative. Last month, S&P placed Russia on negative watch, citing the rapid deterioration of its monetary flexibility and the impact of the weakening economy on the country's financial system. Earlier this month, Fitch Ratings downgraded Russia to its lowest investment grade, followed by Moody's Investors Service.
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Travel bans were issued in several states in the densely populated north-eastern US including New York City as a storm forecast to dump up to 60 to 75 centimetres of snow closed in on the region. About 10 centimetres of snow accumulated in New York by late Monday afternoon and heavy snow was forecast to continue falling into Tuesday accompanied by strong wind gusts. A state of emergency was ordered in New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and parts of New York state. Travel bans were also put in place beginning Monday night.
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The US government's budget deficit will fall to the lowest level of President Barack Obama's administration this year, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office said, but warned deficits will begin rising again in coming years. The deficit is projected to fall to USD468 billion in the 2015 fiscal year, down from USD483 billion last year, the CBO said. The deficit represents 2.6% of gross domestic product, the smallest share since 2007, but near the average over the past 50 years.
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China's leading economic index continued to improve in December, data from the Conference Board showed. The leading index gained 1.1% in December, following a 0.8% rise in November and a 0.9% increase in October. The index signals turning points in the economic cycles. Five of the six components contributed positively to the index in December.
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Emergency conditions - a precursor to a state of emergency - will be applied in parts of eastern Ukraine affected by the pro-Russian separatist insurgency, the Ukrainian government announced Monday, even as Russia's leader charged the county with allowing a "NATO foreign legion" on its territory. Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk told a cabinet meeting that the emergency conditions will apply to the conflict-torn Donetsk and Luhansk regions and that the rest of the country will be put on a state of high alert.
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Syrian Kurdish fighters claimed a major symbolic victory as they pushed Islamic jihadists out of the embattled Syrian town of Kobane. As of Tuesday, the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) would take the fight to the jihadist-held countryside around the town, which lies on Syria's border with Turkey, Kobane defence chief Ismet Hassan told dpa. The YPG captured the eastern Kani Araban district from the extremists in the morning and later retook the last remaining areas of the town, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. The US military later confirmed that forces battling the Islamic State were in control of 90% of the town, after saying earlier in the day that the fighting was ongoing.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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TRADERS: MORGAN STANLEY CUTS DIXONS CARPHONE TO 'UNDERWEIGHT'
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UBS RAISES LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE PRICE TARGET TO 2350 (1800) PENCE - 'NEUTRAL'
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TRADERS: JPMORGAN INITIATES DRAX GROUP WITH 'NEUTRAL'
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BERENBERG RAISES ASHMORE GROUP TO 'BUY' ('HOLD') - TARGET 340 (310) PENCE
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TRADERS: HSBC CUTS HUNTING TO 'NEUTRAL' ('OVERWEIGHT') - TARGET 500 (1,000) P
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UBS CUTS HISCOX TO 'NEUTRAL' ('BUY') - TARGET 750 PENCE
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TRADERS: JEFFERIES CUTS APR ENERGY TO 'UNDERPERFORM' ('BUY'); CUTS PRICE TARGET TO 130 (670) PENCE
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Aer Lingus said its board has indicated to International Consolidated Airlines Group that it is willing to recommend the British Airways owners' EUR1.36 billion bid for the Irish airline. IAG, which also owns Spanish airlines Iberia and Vueling, raised its bid for Aer Lingus for a second time on Monday, and is now offering EUR2.55 a share in cash in total. That figure includes a cash dividend of EUR0.05 a share. "Having considered this request, the board has indicated to IAG that the financial terms are at a level at which it would be willing to recommend, subject to being satisfied with the manner in which IAG proposes to address the interests of relevant parties," Aer Lingus said in a statement.
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EasyJet said it expects to report a smaller first-half loss in its current financial year, after it said revenue rose on the back of strong demand from business and leisure travellers and fuel costs fell in the first quarter. In a trading update, the low-cost airline said it expects to report a pretax loss of between GBP10 million and GBP30 million in the first half of its financial year, narrower than the GBP53 million loss it reported in the first half of last year.
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British Land said it experienced a strong third quarter, with a good occupational performance in its retail and offices portfolio and robust rental growth. The FTSE 100-listed property company said it secured 269,000 square foot of retail lettings and renewals in the quarter ended December 31, with investment lettings and renewals in the period 10.9% ahead of estimated rental value. Retail footfall was up 1.3% in the quarter, with retailer same-store sales in its properties rising 4.4%. British Land also confirmed its third quarter dividend at 6.92 pence per share, up 2.5% on last year.
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Meggitt said it has won a deal worth about USD19 million to supply the cabin surveillance system for Embraer's E-Jets E2. In a statement, the defence and aerospace components maker said it will put cameras into the Embraer E175-E2, E190-E2, and the E195-E2 aircraft.
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Diageo has warned its suppliers it plans to take three months to pay its bills, making the company the latest high-profile group to put pressure on its supply chain, The Daily Telegraph reported. The Telegraph said it has seen a letter from the FTSE 100-listed company to its suppliers saying that from February 1 it will extend the number of days it takes to make payments from 60 days to 90 days on all new contracts and tenders.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Fruit Shoot and Pepsi Max maker Britvic said overall revenue dipped by 0.4% in the first quarter, citing "challenging trading conditions" in the UK and internationally, where volumes fell and selling prices remained flat. The FTSE 250- listed soft drinks company warned at the end of last year that the new financial year had started slowly, but had said that it was confident of further profit improvement during the year on the back of new product launches and more benefits from its cost cutting measures. "As anticipated at our preliminary results in November, trading in the first quarter of the financial year reflects the challenging trading conditions in our core markets," the company said in a statement. Britvic said group revenue for the first quarter to December 21 came in at GBP304.3 million, down 0.4% on last year, driven by a marginal volume decline of 0.3%, and flat average realised prices.
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FTSE 250-listed pub company Marston's said its trading in the first weeks of its financial year have been encouraging, with a good performance for the company in the Christmas and New Year period. Marston's said its like-for-like sales for its Destination and Premium division in the 16 weeks to January 24 were up 2% year-on-year, with food and drink like-for-like sales rising 2%. In its Christmas trading period, covering the two weeks to January 4, the group said like-for-like sales for the division rose 4.8%, with 12.5% growth on Christmas Day.
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PZ Cussons, maker of bath products Imperial Leather and Original Source, reported a drop in both profits and revenue in the first half of its financial year, due to recent business disposals and weak trading in Africa. The consumer products group posted a pretax profit of GBP39.7 million for the half-year to end-November, down 7.9% on the prior year's GBP43.1 million profit, as revenue fell by more than 10% to GBP386.7 million from GBP431.8 million the year before.
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Crest Nicholson Holdings reported a 44% increase in pretax profit in its last financial year, buoyed by higher house completions and average selling prices, and said it's on track to hit its revenue growth target of between 70% and 80% by 2016 compared with the 2013 level after a strong start to its new year. It also offered a sweetener to shareholders, saying it intends to move its dividend towards being covered 2.0 times by earnings over the next three years, reflecting its strong cash generation. The house builder reported a pretax profit of GBP116.7 million for the year to end-October, up from GBP80.9 million a year earlier, as revenue rose to GBP636.3 million, from GBP525.7 million.
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Afren's funding problems deepened as the company said it is in talks with a committee of its bondholders and said that should its debt structure remain as it is, it will need equity funding beyond its current market capitalisation. The FTSE 250-listed oil and gas explorer reiterated that is is in talks with the lenders of its USD300 million Ebok facility with a view to obtaining a deferral on the USD50 million amortisation payment due on January 31. In addition to that, the company is now considering whether to utilise a 30-day grace period under its 2016 bonds regarding USD15 million in interest due on February 1 as it completes the work on its capital structure review and seeks alternative funding arrangements.
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Entertainment One said it anticipates full-year earnings to be ahead of its expectations, despite seeing revenues down 5% in its first nine months, due to a strong performance from its family-entertainment business and controlled costs in its film segment. The media company said that a 36.8% rise in television revenues in the nine months to end-December 2014 was offset by a 13.5% decline in film revenues.
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Defence company QinetiQ Group said Steve Wadey has been appointed as its new chief executive. Wadey will join the company from missile maker MBDA Group, where he had been the managing director of its UK business. Wadey is also the current head of the Defence Growth Partnership, a partnership between the defence industry and the UK government.
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COMPANIES - LONDON MAIN MARKET AND AIM
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Foxtons Group said it intends to pay a final and a further special dividend amounting to GBP14.5 million, equivalent to 5.16 pence per share net, as the estate agency reported that it expects its full-year adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation to be lower than that reported last year. The proposed final and special dividend mean that Foxtons' total dividend payment for 2014 will amount to GBP27.3 million, equivalent to 9.70 pence per share net. In a statement, Foxtons said it anticipates that full-year adjusted EBITDA to be in the region of GBP46 million, compared with GBP49.6 million last year.
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Ocean Wilsons Holdings said it anticipates its full-year pretax profit will be below market expectations due to the depreciation of the Brazilian real, despite its underlying trading results in the year to date having been "satisfactory".
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Carpetright UK Like-For-Like Sales Up 7.5%, UK Total Sales Up 6.6%; Says FY Expectations Unchanged
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Rangers International Football Club said it has entered into an agreement with Sports Direct International PLC under which the retailer will provide the company with a credit facility of up to GBP10 million. Rangers said the directors of the club have considered a number of options to secure its funding, but said the deal with Sports Direct represents the "optimum combination of quantum and duration of funding, allowing the company time to arrange permanent capital which can be used for strengthening the playing squad."
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Brooks Macdonald Group said prospects for the second half of its financial year remain in line with its expectations as the wealth manager reported a rise in discretionary funds under management during the final three months of 2014. In a statement, Brooks Macdonald said discretionary funds under management rose to GBP6.953 billion at the end of 2014, compared with GBP6.677 billion at the end of September that year.
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COMPANIES - INTERNATIONAL
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Swedish mobile network equipment maker Ericsson reported lower profit in its fourth quarter, despite a slight increase in net sales. For the quarter, net income plunged 35% to SEK4.2 billion from last year's SEK6.4 billion. Sales, however, edged up 1% to SEK68 billion from SEK67 billion last year. Sales, adjusted for comparable units and currency, declined 2%.
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German conglomerate Siemens posted lower net income attributable to shareholders of EUR1.08 billion for the first quarter, versus the prior year's EUR1.43 billion. However, revenue for the first quarter was up by 5% year-over-year to EUR17.415 billion from EUR16.58 billion. On a comparable basis, excluding currency translation and portfolio effects, revenue grew by 3%.
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Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis reported that its fourth-quarter net income was USD1.5 billion, down 26% from the prior year, mainly due to lower operating income, partially offset by higher income from associated companies, which included a USD0.4 billion pre-tax gain from the divestment of the shareholding in LTS Lohmann Therapie-Systeme AG and lower tax expense. Group net sales amounted to USD14.6 billion, down 2% from the prior year, while it was up 4% on a constant currencies basis.
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Dutch consumer electronics company Koninklijke Philips Electronics reported a sharp plunge in its fourth-quarter net income to EUR134 million, from EUR412 million in the prior-year quarter. During the fourth quarter, group comparable sales amounted to EUR6.5 billion, down 2% year-over-year.
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Software giant Microsoft said its second quarter profit fell 11% from last year, hurt mainly by integration and restructuring costs as well as higher income tax expenses even as revenue increased 8% due to strong sales of its gadgets and cloud-based products. For the second quarter ended December 31, 2014, the world's biggest software company reported net income of USD5.9 billion , compared to USD6.6 billion for the year-ago quarter. Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft said revenue for the second quarter rose 8% to USD26.47 billion from USD24.52 billion in the same quarter last year.
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IBM refuted a blogger's claim that the company plans 110,000 job cuts. Robert Cringely last week reported that IBM would slash 26% of its global workforce as part of a reorganization referred to as Project Chrome. "To fix its business problems and speed up its 'transformation' . about 26% of IBM's employees will be getting phone calls from their managers. A few hours later a package will appear on their doorsteps with all the paperwork. Project Chrome will hit many of the worldwide services operations," Cringely wrote. IBM blasted the article in a press release. "IBM does not comment on rumors or speculation. However, we'll make an exception when the speculation is stupid. That's the case here, where an industry gadfly is trying to make noise about how IBM is about to lay off 26% of its workforce. That's over 100,000 people, which is totally ludicrous."
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Tuesday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs

Britvic
Servoca
Marston's
Greencore
Alternative Networks
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

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