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(Alliance News) - The following is a summary of top news stories Thursday.
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COMPANIES
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British Airways-parent International Consolidated Airlines Group cut its fourth-quarter flying capacity and posted a sharp third-quarter revenue fall, with travel demand sapped by the Covid-19 pandemic. The company now expects to fly just 30% of 2019 capacity in the final quarter of 2020. Total revenue in the third quarter ended September 30 fell 83% annually to EUR1.2 billion, and IAG swung to an operating loss of EUR1.3 billion from EUR1.4 billion profit a year earlier. Passenger capacity in the quarter declined by 79% and traffic plummeted 88%. Seat load factor was down 38.8 points to 48.9%.
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Rentokil Initial said it performed "very strongly" in the third quarter and reiterated plans to pay a dividend for 2020. The pest control and hygiene company posted a 4.3% revenue hike for the third quarter of 2020, or 8.5% in constant currency. Revenue came in at GBP758.1 million. Continuing revenue in the Hygiene unit alone jumped 53% at constant currency.
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Anglo-Dutch consumer goods company Unilever said its third quarter underlying sales grew 4.4% annually, though revenue slipped 2.9% to EUR12.9 billion. Unilever continued to see "elevated levels" of sales of hand and home hygiene products, as well as of foods consumed at home. Its ice cream business - which houses the Ben & Jerry's brand - continued to struggle. Separately, the company warned that its planned unification under a single UK entity was still threatened by a proposed Dutch exit tax. Unilever argued the Dutch bill in its current form will "infringe" several tax treaties.
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Polymetal International posted revenue of USD884 million in the three months to the end of September, up 35% year-on-year due to higher gold and silver prices as well as increased sales volumes. Gold equivalent production for the quarter increased by 7% to 477,000 ounces. Looking ahead, Polymetal said it is on track to meet its full-year 2020 production guidance of 1.5 million ounces gold equivalent, also reiterating its production guidance for 2021 and 2022 of 1.5 million ounces and 1.6 million ounces gold equivalent, respectively.
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Anglo American is currently operating at 95% of normal capacity after adjusting to the global Covid-19 climate. Copper production increased 4% in the third quarter that ended September 30 to 166,000 tonnes, though annual guidance has been tightened to 630,000 to 660,000 tonnes from the previous range of 620,000 to 670,000 tonnes. Diamond production was down 4% year-on-year to 7.2 million carats during the quarter, platinum production decreased by 2% to 516,500 ounces and palladium output was flat at 352,200 ounces. Anglo raised annual platinum and palladium guidance.
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MARKETS
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The mood in London was downbeat, CMC Markets analyst David Madden said, as "never-ending" talks between lawmakers in the US over a stimulus deal continued. However, the FTSE 100 trimmed its losses as the morning went on and the mid-cap index crept into the green. IAG shares were down 0.7%. US futures are lower on Thursday morning, with US stocks set to add to Wednesday losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite all are pointed 0.3% lower.
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FTSE 100: down 0.3% at 5,758.50
FTSE 250: up 0.1% at 17,806.63
AIM ALL-SHARE: down 0.3% at 969.49
GBP: down at USD1.3092 (USD1.3145)
EUR: down at USD1.1829 (USD1.1868)
Gold: down at USD1,916.34 per ounce (USD1,922.40)
Oil (Brent): soft at USD41.82 a barrel (USD41.95)
(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
The UK and EU Brexit negotiators will embark on an "intensified phase of talks" on Thursday after Brussels said both sides needed to compromise on trade issues. The EU Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier made conciliatory signals to his UK counterpart David Frost as the deadline for a deal looms. Number 10 acknowledged that "significant gaps" remain between the two sides and it was "entirely possible that negotiations will not succeed". But there were some upbeat reports that a deal could be done within two weeks, with the Daily Telegraph reporting that Lord Frost believed Brussels was applying a "fundamental" change of approach to the talks. The negotiations had been in limbo after UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's previous deadline for a deal passed last week.
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UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to announce a new support package for businesses affected by Tier 2 restrictions, according to reports. Sunak will unveil a new plan to help firms, particularly pubs and restaurants, who have seen their trade drop as a result of the social restrictions in the "high" Covid-19 category. Currently, businesses in Tier 2 areas such as London and Birmingham do not benefit from the same government aid as those in Tier 3, including business grants and higher wage subsidies, because they can remain open. Sunak will make a statement to the Commons on Thursday and the Telegraph reported he will unveil financial measures to help Tier 2 firms following complaints from industry leaders and MPs that thousands of jobs were at risk ahead of Christmas. The chancellor's spokesperson told the PA news agency: "The chancellor is due to update the House of Commons on the economic situation, in particular, and so far as it relates to the new restrictions.
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Ireland became the first European country to enter a second national lockdown, and Germany's daily cases leapt to a record high as the second wave of coronavirus spread gloom across the continent on Thursday. As a Covid-19 surge gripped European countries ahead of the onset of winter, Spain added to the list of disquieting statistics when it became the first country to pass a million cases. Many European authorities have been reluctant to reimpose harsh lockdown measures, after previous restrictions caused deep recessions and widespread bitterness. But Ireland's five million people have been ordered to stay at home for six weeks, with non-essential businesses urged to shut up shop. Irish authorities have also imposed a strict five-kilometre (three-mile) travel limit, limited bars and restaurants to takeaway only and extended a ban on visits between households.
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A White House official on Wednesday said the next two days of talks over a new US stimulus package will be critical, as Washington policymakers touted only incremental progress in negotiations. After months of dialogue and increasing signs of progress in recent days, both Democrats and Republicans say differences remain but they are nonetheless starting to put elements in writing that could become a legislative package costing trillions of dollars. Congressional Democrats have been holding out for a broad bill with a number of support measures while Republicans have tried to hold down the price tag and narrow the focus, but both sides say they want to win approval before the November 3 election.
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