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(Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Thursday.
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FTSE 100 - WINNERS
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easyJet, up 5.5%. The budget airline said it expects demand for the next three years to be lower than in 2019, as it announced plans to cut the number of people it employs and the number of planes it flies. easyJet confirmed its plans to resume flights on June 15, adding that booking trends on the scheduled flights have been encouraging with the demand indications for summer 2020 showing improvement, albeit from a low base. Bookings for winter are well ahead of the equivalent point last year, including customers who are rebooking coronavirus-disrupted flights for later dates. In an effort to cut spending, easyJet said it plans to reduce staff numbers by up to 30%. "One possible silver lining for shareholders is that the crisis provides airlines with a chance to reset their costs structures. Airlines can renegotiate with airports and other suppliers, as well as reducing headcount and agreeing reductions in staff pay. That would make the surviving airlines leaner and more efficient than they were previously, even if social distancing measures prevent them from exploiting this in the near term," said Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Will Ryder.
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FTSE 100 - LOSERS
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HSBC Holdings, down 4.9%, Standard Chartered, down 3.8%. The Asia-focused banks were lower after China's parliament adopted a controversial national security law for Hong Kong, in a move expected to spur protests in the financial hub and heightened tensions with the US. The law bypasses Hong Kong's internal legislature to punish acts seen as endangering national security and subverting state power in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory. Beijing may also set up outposts of mainland agencies in Hong Kong to curb violent protests and what it describes as interference by foreign countries. The law passed at the end of the annual parliamentary session, the National People's Congress, with 2,878 votes for, one vote against and six abstentions.
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FTSE 250 - WINNERS
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Cineworld Group, up 25%. The cinema chain said its lenders have agreed to waive the leverage covenant for the June testing date, as it announced plans to reopen cinemas in July. Ciineworld said its lenders also agreed to increase the leverage covenant for the December test to 9.0 times net debt to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation. Cineworld added that it has agreed the terms of USD110 million of additional liquidity through an increase in its revolving credit facility. It has also secured credit committee approval to apply for an additional USD45 million through the UK Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme and expects shortly to start a process to access USD25 million through the US government CARES Act. Aiming for that to not happen, Cineworld on Thursday unveiled plans to reopen all its cinemas in July, in anticipation of the lifting of government-enforced restrictions everywhere it operates.
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IWG, up 16% at 302.00 pence. The office space provider said it has raised GBP320 million through a previously announced share placing and retail offer, with Chief Executive Officer Mark Dixon buying GBP91.3 million worth of stock. The company formerly known as Regus issued 133.9 million new shares under the share placing and retail offer at 239 pence each, a 8.1% discount to 260.2p price on Wednesday. CEO Dixon bought 38.2 million shares, around 29% of the placing and retail offer. Shareholder Toscafund also subscribed 24.8 million placing shares, worth GBP59.4 million.
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Stagecoach, up 7.5%, FirstGroup, up 7.0%. The transport companies welcomed the UK Department for Transport's funding programme to restart normal public transport services. The UK government is looking at a phased increase in transport services in England, after normal bus, tram and light rail networks across the UK were mostly paused in March as part of the effort to stop the spread of Covid-19. As part of this, the UK Department for Transport has made GBP254 million available for buses and GBP29 million for trams and light rail to help increase the frequency and capacity of services. FirstGroup said the DfT funding will allow the company to increase its bus service capacity as travel restrictions begin to ease. Stagecoach also noted the government's funding programme, but warned that Covid-19 is set to leave a lasting effect on travel patterns.
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Greggs, up 6.0%. Jefferies started coverage on the bakery chain with a Buy rating.
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OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS
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boohoo Group, up 14%. The online fashion retailer said it has bought the remaining stake in PrettyLittleThing from the co-founder's son, a day after defending itself over the issue against a short seller. boohoo said it is buying the remaining 34% stake in PrettyLittleThing from minority shareholders Umar Kamani and Paul Papworth for an initial consideration of GBP269.8 million, potentially rising to GBP323.8 million including a potential further contingent payout of GBP54 million. The initial GBP269.8 million consideration will be settled through a combination of shares in boohoo totalling GBP107.9 million and an up-front cash payment of GBP161.9 million, funded from the GBP240.7 million of net cash that the company had on its balance sheet at February 29. The chief executive and founder of PrettyLittleThing is Umar Kamani, son of boohoo Chair & co-founder Mahmud Kamani.
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OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS
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Daily Mail & General Trust, down 4.9%. The newspaper publisher said its revenue nudged lower, but profit was boosted by disposals during a first-half which turned sour towards the end due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In the six months to March 31, revenue was 0.6% lower at GBP683 million from GBP687 million. Pretax profit surged 60%, however, to GBP80 million from GBP50 million. The profit jump was due to disposal gains, the Daily Mail newspaper owner said. DMGT booked GBP41.1 million in profit from disposal and closures, these were related to Inframation AG and BuildFax Inc, units in the company's Property Information segment. Gains from disposals were just GBP900,000 in the year prior. DMGT nudged its dividend 2.7% higher to 7.5 pence from 7.3p.
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By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com
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