Flybe Group Share News (FLYB)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Stocks in London were mixed at midday on Monday, with the FTSE 100 tentatively higher as a weak pound helped the index to rise off morning lows after weak economic data from China had curdled sentiment overnight. "European markets have kicked off the weak in typically indecisive fashion, with a raft of conflicting data points from China and a focus on Brexit expected to drive price action through the day," said IG market analyst Joshua Mahony."With the US observing Martin Luther King day, European traders are expecting lower volumes and thus potentially higher volatility," said Mahony. "That being said, beyond an update from Theresa May, markets are somewhat devoid of market-moving events, with the Chinese data released overnight providing the basis for market sentiment outside of the UK today."The FTSE 100 was up 10.85 points, or 0.2%, at 6,979.18 at midday, having dipped to a low of 6,954.52 in early dealings. The FTSE 250 was 5.05 points lower at 18,759.42 while the AIM All-Share was down 0.1% at 912.41.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.1% at 11,851.21, while the Cboe UK 250 was flat at 16,754.05 and the Cboe UK Small Companies up 0.4% at 11,140.67.The pound was quoted at USD1.2852 at midday, down from USD1.2897 late Friday as UK Prime Minister Theresa May prepares to set out her next steps to build a Commons majority for a Brexit deal. Following last week's overwhelming defeat of her Brexit withdrawal agreement, May will make oral and written statements to the House on Monday explaining how she intends to proceed. She will table a "neutral" motion to be debated and voted on - along with any amendments tabled by MPs - on January 29.UK government sources said she would be holding further talks with MPs, as well as business leaders and trade unionists, throughout the week in an attempt to find a way forward. But after she briefed the Cabinet in a conference call on Sunday about her first round of cross-party contacts last week, there was little expectation she was ready to offer concessions that could win over opposition MPs.Released overnight in China, official figures showed the world's second largest economy grew by 6.6% in 2018, the slowest rate since 1990. In the final quarter of 2018, the economy grew 6.4% amid signs of a slowdown as China grapples with issues including the ongoing trade war with the US. Growth for 2019 is widely expected to fall to 6.5% or lower, according to the World Bank and economic experts.Premier Li Keqiang said Thursday that China would aim to keep growth within a "reasonable range" through innovation and macroeconomic policies, according to state news agency Xinhua. The economy has taken a hit from the US trade war, which if left unresolved past its March deadline for negotiations could further inhibit growth."The outlook remains challenging and the authorities have stepped up efforts to prop up growth. We see further growth moderation this year, and think that a gradual deprecation of [the Chinese yuan] is justified due to intensifying growth challenges, monetary policy accommodation and a shrinking current account surplus," said Hao Zhou, analyst at Commerzbank. In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.2% while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt 0.4% was lower Monday midday.Data from Destatis showed Germany's producer price inflation eased to a seven-month low in December. Producer prices climbed 2.7% year-on-year in December, slower than the 3.3% increase seen in November. On a monthly basis, producer prices dropped for the first time in ten months in December. Prices fell 0.4% month-on-month, in contrast to November's 0.1% increase. Economists had expected producer prices to edge up 0.1%.In London, Just Eat was down 1.2% after announcing the departure of Chief Executive Officer Peter Plumb with immediate effect. The online takeaway platform has promoted Chief Customer Officer Peter Duffy into an interim CEO role while it seeks a permanent replacement.Also providing an update on trading, the FTSE 250-listed firm said it expects to report annual revenue of approximately GBP780 million for 2018, up 43% from GBP546.3 million in 2017. The company is also expecting underlying earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation, and amortization of between GBP172 million and GBP174 million, up from GBP164 million in 2017.Looking ahead, Just Eat predicted that its 2019 revenue will be in the range of GBP1.0 billion to GBP1.1 billion, which would mark an increase of up to 40% on 2018. It also anticipates underlying Ebitda for 2019 in the GBP185 million to GBP205 million range.Fellow FTSE 250 constituent Babcock International was 1.4% higher after Goldman Sachs added the defence firm to its Conviction Buy List.At the bottom of the mid-caps was Hammerson, knocked by a broker rating downgrade after JPMorgan cut its recommendation on the retail property investor to Neutral from Overweight. William Hill was among the losers as well, down 3.3% after the bookmaker said it expects a drop in adjusted operating profit for 2018 due to increased expansion costs and due diligence measures.William Hill said adjusted operating profit for the year is forecast to be around GBP234 million, down 20% from GBP291.3 million reported for 2017. The figure is, however, in line with the company's guidance range of between GBP225 million to GBP245 million.The decline in profit is due to the impact of enhanced customer due-diligence measures and costs from the group's expansion in the US, William Hill said.Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, commented: "Confirmation that profit fell in 2018 should not be a major shock give the regulatory challenges faced by the company, perhaps most notably with the cut in maximum stakes on fixed odds betting terminals. This will necessitate a big restructuring of the company's high street business in 2019."Elsewhere on the London Main Market, shares in Flybe climbed 38% to 3.445 pence on a Sky News report that the struggling airline's largest shareholder could attempt to block the sale of the company.Hosking Partners, which holds around a 19% stake in Flybe, has "instructed lawyers to explore its options in relation to the company's proposed sale" according to Sky. Earlier in January, Flybe agreed to sell its main trading company and online business for GBP2.8 million to Connect Airways, a joint venture between Stobart Group, Virgin Atlantic, and DLP Holdings. In addition, the companies agreed a bridge loan of up to GBP20 million to fund Flybe.

Stobart shares were down 1.1%.Shares in budget airline Ryanair were up 3.5% after HSBC raised its rating on the low-cost airline to Buy from Reduce following last week's profit warning. On Friday, Ryanair cut its profit guidance, blaming lower fares over the winter period. For its financial year ending March, Ryanair is guiding for profit after tax between EUR1.0 billion and EUR1.1 billion. Its prior guidance range was EUR1.1 billion to EUR1.2 billion. Stocks in the US are closed for Martin Luther King Jr Day on Monday and will re-open on Tuesday.