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(Alliance News) - International Consolidated Airlines Group said Thursday that Willie Walsh, the airline industry veteran who led the integration of British Airways with Iberia to form IAG, will retire as chief executive on June 30.
Iberia Chief Executive Luis Gallego will succeed Walsh.
"Willie has been the main driver of this unique idea that is IAG," said Chair Antonio Vazquez, adding: "Willie has established a strong management team and I am delighted that Luis will be promoted from this team to succeed Willie as CEO."
The stock was up 1.1% early Thursday.
Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: up 0.4% at 7,608.36
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Hang Seng: up 1.6% at 28,525.70
Nikkei 225: closed up 2.3% at 23,739.87
DJIA: closed up 161.41 points, 0.6%, at 28,745.09
S&P 500: closed up 0.5% at 3,253.05
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GBP: up at USD1.3114 (USD1.3088)
EUR: flat at USD1.1118 (USD1.1114)
Gold: down at USD1,545.69 per ounce (USD1,573.70)
Oil (Brent): soft at USD65.56 a barrel (USD65.90)
(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Thursday's Key Economic Events still to come
1100 GMT Ireland industrial production and turnover
1100 GMT Ireland Irish Live Register latest monthly figures
1100 CET EU unemployment
0730 EST US Challenger job-cut report
0830 EST US initial jobless claims
0830 EST US weekly export sales
0945 EST US Bloomberg consumer comfort index
1030 EST US EIA weekly natural gas storage report
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Chinese Vice Premier Liu He will travel to Washington on Monday to sign the so-called phase one trade deal with the US, the commerce ministry said. Liu, China's top negotiator in the trade war, will be in the US capital from Monday to Wednesday, the ministry said, a week after US President Donald Trump said the agreement would be signed on January 15.
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China will allow foreign companies to take part in oil and gas exploration and production in the country, in what officials hailed as a "major reform" opening up the industry. The Ministry of Natural Resources said foreign firms registered in China with net assets of not less than CNY300 million, about USD43 million, will be eligible to obtain oil and gas mining rights. The change takes place from May 1 and also applies to domestic companies. "Opening to both domestic and foreign enterprises is a major reform measure," said Deputy Minister of Natural Resources Ling Yueming at a news conference. In the past, international companies could only enter the industry by working with Chinese firms, such as state-owned enterprises.
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After years of bitter arguments, members of Parliament will on Thursday finally approve the terms of Brexit, paving the way for the UK to leave the EU on January 31. The House of Commons will complete its scrutiny of a bill ratifying Prime Minister Boris Johnson's EU divorce deal, drawing a line under an extraordinary period of political chaos. MPs gave their initial approval to the EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill before Christmas, and the government set aside three days this week for detailed scrutiny. But few MPs even bothered to turn up on Tuesday and Wednesday, while the government easily saw off opposition attempts to amend the text.
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UK retailers suffered their worst year on record in 2019, data showed, though sales in December were boosted, albeit only due to the late timing of the Black Friday promotional period. In 2019, total sales were down by 0.1%, compared with growth of 1.2% in 2018, numbers from the British Retail Consortium-KPMG sales monitor showed. It was a year when Brexit uncertainty denting consumer confidence, with some retailers being forced to close shops, cut jobs, and, in the worst cases, resort to company voluntary agreements, an insolvency arrangement. In the five weeks to December 28, total retail sales were up 1.9% from a year before and increased by 1.7% on a like-for-like basis. In December 2018, total sales were flat annually but declined 1.2% on a like-for-like basis.
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The German trade surplus narrowed in November, due to falling exports to both the EU and internationally, the country's Federal Statistical Office reported. Destatis showed Germany exported goods to the value of EUR112.9 billion and imported goods to the value of EUR94.6 billion in November 2019. Giving a trade surplus of EUR18.9 billion, behind EUR19.4 billion in the same month last year and EUR23.0 billion in October. Based on provisional data, German exports decreased by 2.9% and imports by 1.6% in November 2019 on the same month a year earlier. Compared with October, exports were down 2.3% and imports 0.5% after calendar and seasonal adjustment. Destatis reported Germany's industrial production in November was up by 1.1% on the previous month on a price, seasonally and calendar adjusted basis.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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BARCLAYS CUTS TULLOW OIL TO 'EQUAL WEIGHT' (OVERWEIGHT) - TARGET 75 (80) PENCE
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BARCLAYS RAISES ENQUEST ENERGY TO 'OVERWEIGHT' (UNDERWEIGHT) - TARGET 40 (21) PENCE
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Tesco's UK & Ireland sales rose over the Christmas period, but total group sales fell amid sharp declines in Central Europe, where it is restructuring, and its banking unit which recently halted mortgage lending. In the six weeks to January 4, total UK & Republic of Ireland sales edged up 0.2% and rose 0.4% on a like-for-like basis, excluding fuel. Total group sales fell by 1.7%, however, and by 0.8% on a like-for-like basis. Chief Executive Dave Lewis said: "In a subdued UK market we performed well, delivering our fifth consecutive Christmas of growth. In our Centenary year, our customer proposition was compelling, our product offering very competitive and thanks to the outstanding contribution of our colleagues, our operational performance was the best of the last six years. As a result, this Christmas we had the biggest ever day of UK food sales in our history."
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Marks & Spencer reported improved momentum in the third quarter, though said "disappointing one-off issues" held the retailer back from delivering a stronger result. Total group sales were down 0.7% in the 12 weeks to December 28, with International down 2.3% and the UK down 0.6%. Like-for-like sales in the UK, though, edged up 0.2%. Among UK divisions, Food sales rose 1.5%, or 1.4% like-for-like, while Clothing & Home sales were down 3.7%, or 1.7% lower like-for-like. The Food business maintained its first-half momentum with positive like-for-like revenue and further improvement in volumes, while Clothing & Home saw an improved run-rate with signs of continuing recovery in core Womenswear. M&S held its annual guidance, though noted that gross margins are expected to be around the lower end of guidance but largely offset by its cost reduction programme.
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Home furnishings retailer Dunelm reported both an improvement in sales and margin for the second quarter. Total like-for-like sales were up 5.0% in the 12 weeks to December 28 against a comparative of 11% growth. Total sales were up 6.2%. At the same time, Dunelm's gross margin improved by 110 basis points due to sourcing gains and lower product markdowns during the period. Dunelm added that it did not participate in Black Friday or additional pre-Christmas discounting. For the first half as a whole, like-for-like sales were up 5.6%, with total sales 6.0% higher. "We are really pleased with our performance in the first half, building on the strong growth and profitability delivered last year. The second quarter was particularly strong in terms of sales and margin growth, on both one-year and two-year bases," said Dunelm Chief Executive Nick Wilkinson.
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Pub owner Mitchells & Butlers reported a strong festive period performance, with food in particular doing well. Mitchells & Butlers, which is based in Birmingham, owns pub and restaurant chains such as O'Neill's, Harvester, and Toby Carvery. In the seven weeks to January 4, Mitchells & Butlers achieved 3.5% like-for-like sales growth. Food was 4.0% higher, and drink 2.7% higher. For the seven weeks to November 16, like-for-like sales growth came in at 1.4%. Food like-for-like sales grew by 1.7%, and drink by 0.7%. Overall, for the 14 weeks to January 4, Mitchells & Butlers's like-for-like sales growth was 2.6%. Food, once again, was the stronger performer with 3.0% growth, and drink was 1.8% higher.
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COMPANIES - OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM
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Card Factory said the Christmas trading period was "challenging" as it softened its outlook. Sales for the eleven months to December 31 were up 3.6%, though like-for-like sales fell 0.6%. Card Factory said adjusted underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation is now expected to be around GBP81.0 million to GBP83.0 million for the current financial year. Underlying Ebitda in the previous financial year amounted to GBP89.4 million. Looking further out, the company said issues such as declining high street footfall and high cost inflation are expected to continue. Card Factory said it remains committed to its dividend policy but not does anticipate a special payout for the 2021 financial year. The level of ordinary dividend in 2021 will be reviewed, the company added
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COMPANIES - INTERNATIONAL
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Japan's justice minister urged Carlos Ghosn to return and make his case in court, after the fugitive former auto executive gave an impassioned defence of his decision to jump bail and flee to Lebanon. Ghosn made his first public appearance since his audacious December escape at a combative press conference in Beirut on Wednesday, where he slammed Japan and said he had been forced to flee because he would not get a fair trial. The ex-chair of Nissan Motor faced four charges of financial misconduct in Tokyo, which he alleges were cooked up by disgruntled executives at Nissan in collusion with Japanese prosecutors. On Thursday, Japanese Justice Minister Masako Mori called those claims "baseless" and insisted Ghosn's "assertions will not justify his flight from Japan in any way".
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Thursday's Shareholder Meetings
Remote Monitored Systems (re sale of Geocurve)
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com
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