Punch Taverns PLC Share News (PUB)

LONDON (Alliance News) - EasyJet is one of the best-performing FTSE 100 stocks Thursday after the low-cost airline said it has decided to increase its ordinary dividend payout to 40% of post-tax profit from the current financial year, and intends to make further returns of capital to shareholders in the coming years.

The airline said that, in light of its continued strong financial performance and confidence in the future, it has decided to increase the payout ratio for the ordinary dividend from one third of profit after tax to 40% of profit after tax from the financial year ending September 30.

EasyJet also said it has reached agreement with Airbus to exercise existing purchase rights over 27 current generation A320 aircraft for delivery between 2015 and 2018, to be funded through a combination of internal resources, cashflow, sale and leaseback transactions and debt.

"The additional aircraft will augment easyJet's highly cash generative model and the board will continue to keep the balance sheet under review and intends to make further returns of capital to shareholders in the coming years," said the company.

Shares in easyJet are trading 2.1% higher at 1,365.92 pence per share.

The historic Scottish referendum vote is in full swing, as voters decide whether or not to end more than 300 years of union with the rest of the United Kingdom.

Almost 4.3 million people have registered to vote across 32 different localities, making it the largest-ever recorded electorate in Scotland. Turnout is expected to be high.

The latest opinion polls indicate that the vote remains on a knife edge, with a survey by You Gov published late Wednesday showing that 52% of Scots planned to vote against independence while 48% were in favour.

Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond, who has led the charge for independence, was among the first voters, casting his ballot in the Aberdeenshire village of Strichen, north-east Scotland.

Polls close at 2200 local time and no exit polls are expected. Results are expected to begin coming in from around 0100 BST on Friday but final results are not expected until around 0600 BST at the earliest. Chief Counting Officer Mary Pitcaithly will officially announce the result at the Royal Highland Centre outside Edinburgh.

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Markets:

FTSE 100: up 0.4% at 6,807.86
FTSE 250: up 0.4% at 15,636.51
AIM ALL-SHARE: down 0.5% at 760.02
GBP-USD: up at 1.6338
EUR-USD: up at 1.2883
GOLD: up at USD1,224.65 an ounce
OIL (Brent): up at USD98.79 a barrel
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Other Top UK Corporate News
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Marks & Spencer Group is to accelerate its expansion into international markets by entering the Scandinavian market, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday. The retailer has already outlined plans to open 250 new international stores by 2016 and is set to open 15 new franchise stores across Finland and Norway, with the first site, a 32,000 square foot flagship store in Helsinki, to open next month, the FT said. The retailer has teamed with Finnish retailer S Group as a franchise partner for the launch and will work with Norwegian retailer POCOS Group in that country, the newspaper added.
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UK food wholesaler Booker Group said sales inched up in the second quarter of its financial year, helped by non-tobacco sales, and said its turnaround plans for the Makro business remain on track and on budget. Total sales in the 12 weeks to September 12 were up 0.1% including sales from Makro. Non-tobacco sales were up 0.8%, while tobacco sales declined 1.4%.
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Petra Diamonds saw its shares rise after it reported higher profit and revenue for its last financial year, and said its outlook is positive because it expects production to increase, rough diamond prices to rise, and it is continuing to find exceptional diamonds. The stock has already risen 67.1% so far in 2014, after a string of good news including finding three exceptional rough stones in its Cullinan mine in South Africa. It has previously said it would start paying dividends in fiscal 2016, but said it could bring the date forward. It will give more detail on this at the end of January, 2015. It reported a net profit of USD67.5 million for the year to June 30, up from USD27.9 million a year earlier, as revenue rose to USD471.8 million, from USD392.5 million.
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Premier Farnell reiterated its expectations for the full year despite seeing its pretax profit dip in the half year to February 1. It expects its investments and reorganisation to lead to accelerated revenue growth, helping it achieve its target profitability in its second half. First-half pretax profit was GBP36.4 million, down from GBP38.1 million in the year-earlier period, as revenue fell to GBP479.3 million from GBP498.2 million. It booked GBP2.3 million in restructuring costs relating to its business reorganisation, and GBP100,000 for the acquisition of AVID Technologies. The company also said it had made progress towards its sales growth target of 6%; it posted sales growth of 3.3% in the first half, and 4.7% growth in the second quarter.
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Just Retirement Group reported a 6% increase in new business sales, as its entry into the defined benefit de-risking space and strong lifetime mortgage volumes offset weak individual annuity sales following the shake-up of the market in the wake of the Budget. In a statement, Just Retirement reported GBP1.75 billion of new business sales in the year ended June 30, compared with GBP1.65 billion last year. Chief Executive Rodney Cook said operating conditions have become much tougher since the Budget, with individually underwritten annuities sales at "slightly below" half their pre-Budget levels. However, Cook said the group will further develop its defined benefit de-risking in order to accelerate its penetration into the sector.
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Punch Taverns has almost ended a drawn-out process to restructure its GBP2.3 billion debt pile , after bondholders and shareholders finally agreed to its latest proposals. The debt-for-equity deal will mean shareholders are left with 15% of the equity while bondholders take over the remainder of the stock. However, debt will be cut by GBP600.0 million. The deal now just needs signing off by Royal Bank of Scotland Group and Lloyds Banking Group.
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Merlin Entertainments said positive trading over the summer at its attractions and theme parks has left its confident in its outlook for the remainder of the year. The attractions and theme park operator said throngs of customers continued to flood through the gates of its LEGOLAND parks over the summer, helping driving total revenue growth up 3.8% in the 36 weeks ended September 6. It was hit hard by the strength of sterling: revenue was up 9.3% rise at constant currency. In the year-to-date, Merlin said like-for-like revenue has grown 6.7%, with LEGOLAND parks up almost 14%, Midway Attractions up 3.2%, and its Resort Theme Parks sporting 4.2% growth.
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Kier Group reported higher underlying profits for its last financial year as its acquisition of May Gurney and strong organic growth drove up revenue, and it appointed Balfour Beatty PLC executive Beverley Dew as its Finance Director, although it hasn't yet decided when the 43 year-old will start in the job. The company reported underlying pretax profit of GBP73.1 million for the year to end-June, up from GBP47.6 million a year earlier, as revenue grew by half to GBP3.0 billion, from GBP2.0 billion. It pretax profit fell, however, to GBP14.8 million, from GBP25.9 million, as exceptional items more than doubled to GBP42.2 million due to the costs related to its acquisition of May Gurney. It raised its total dividend for the year by 6% to 72.0 pence, from 68.0p.
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Vehicle hire company Northgate said it is trading in line with expectations and expressed confidence for the full year on the back of increased profit and revenue from its UK and Spanish businesses. FTSE 250-listed Northgate said vehicles on hire in the UK rose 900 between May 1 and September 18 to 48,500. This compares to an increase of 1,600 in the same period last year. In Spain, Northgate said vehicles on hire were up 1,800 during the period to reach 36,500, ahead of the 1,300 increase reported in the comparable period in 2013.
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Events marketing and communications company UBM confirmed it has been involved in discussions to potentially acquire its trade show rival Advanstar Communications Inc, following recent media speculation. The PR Newswire owner said the discussions may or may not lead to an offer, and said it will make a further announcement in due course as appropriate.
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AIM Movers
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Mariana Resources leads the AIM All-Share gainers after it said it has entered into an agreement to buy Canadian explorer Aegean Metals Group in an all-share deal. Shares in Botswana Diamonds are also up after it said it plans to start drilling at Orapa in Botswana in the next 10 days. Caza Oil & Gas is higher after the company reported strong results from the first well drilled on the Broadcaster property in New Mexico, and said wells being drilled on two other properties in the same state are on track. At the other end of the market, Monitise is amongst the worst-performing stocks after payments giant Visa said it is considering its remaining investment in the mobile payments company, asking JP Morgan Securities to assist as it looks to lessen its dependence on external mobile development resources. Iofina is down after it said its production volumes in August dropped from July and its production guidance for the year has been revised below market and management expectations.
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Top Economics And General
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UK retail sales increased as expected in August on non-food store sales, data from the Office for National Statistics showed. Including auto fuel, retail sales volume increased 0.4% from July, when it remained flat. The monthly growth rate matched expectations. Meanwhile, sales excluding auto fuel grew 0.2% month-over-month, which was slower than the 0.4% rise seen in July and weaker than the expected 0.3% increase.
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UK mortgage lending increased from a year ago in August, figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders showed. Gross mortgage lending grew 13% year-on-year to GBP 18.6 billion in August. Meanwhile, compared to the previous month, lending fell 5%. The latest figure marked the highest lending total for an August since 2008.
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The US Federal Reserve expects to end its monthly purchases of government-backed debt after its next scheduled meeting on October 28-29, the central bank said Wednesday. If current expectations remain on track for ongoing improvement in the labour market and inflation, "the committee will end its current programme of asset purchases" at next month's meeting, the Fed said. The statement reiterated that bond purchases "are not on a preset course." The Fed also voted Wednesday to reduce quantitative easing from the current USD25 billion per month to USD15 billion in October. The Fed maintained its forecast that near-zero interest rates would remain in place for a "considerable time".
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The European Central Bank announced the results of its first targeted longer-term refinancing operation, which is aimed to boost liquidity at Eurozone banks to help revive lending to small businesses and households. The central bank announced that 255 bidders were allotted EUR82.60 billion, which was below the EUR100 - EUR150 billion predicted by analysts.
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New home prices in most Chinese cities fell in August, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed Wednesday. Average new house prices in 68 out of the total 70 cities declined in August from the previous month. Prices in major cities like Shanghai and Shenzhen decreased 1.1% each. Prices in Beijing dropped 0.9%. On a year-over-year basis, house prices in 19 out of the 70 cities fell in August while prices in 48 cities increased.
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Japan posted a merchandise trade deficit of JPY948.5 billion in August, the Ministry of Finance said - remaining in the red for a record 26th consecutive month. The headline figure beat forecasts for a shortfall of JPY1,028.9 billion following the JPY962.1 billion deficit in July. Exports fell 1.3% on year to JPY5.705 trillion, beating expectations for a drop of 2.6% but down from the 3.9% jump in the previous month. Imports dipped an annual 1.5% to JPY6.654 trillion versus forecasts for a fall of 1.2% following the 2.3% gain a month earlier.
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The US House of Representatives approved the training of moderate Syrian rebels to fight against the Islamic State in a 273-156 vote, with opposition Republicans giving strong backing to US President Barack Obama's strategy. The measure, which was requested by Obama, is part of a budget resolution that now goes to the full Senate, where it is expected to pass.
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The international coalition being put together by the US to fight the Islamic State has reached 50 countries, US Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday. Efforts are now focused on what each nation's contribution will be, Kerry told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. More details will be made public at the United Nations General Assembly this week and next.
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The Ebola epidemic could deal a "catastrophic" blow to already fragile West African countries, the World Bank said Wednesday, pointing to fear of contagion as the main factor driving the downturn. Left unchecked, Ebola could lead to a contraction of Liberia's economy by 11.7% in 2015, putting the West African country - the worst-affected by the epidemic - at minus 4.9% growth, the World Bank said. Guinea and Sierra Leone - the second and third hardest-hit nations - could see gross domestic product (GDP) drop by 2.3 and 8.9 percentage points respectively in 2015.
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Afternoon Watchlist (all times British Summer Time)

13:30 US Housing Starts
13:30 US Jobless Claims
15:00 US Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Survey
15:30 US EIA Natural Gas Storage change
20:00 US American Petroleum Institute Monthly Report
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Friday's Key UK Corporate Events

Brain Juicer -Half Year Results
Songbird Estates -Half Year Results
Investec - Trading Statement
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Friday's Key Economic Events (all times British Summer Time)

00:50 Japan Foreign bond investment
05:30 Japan All Industry Activity Index
07:00 Germany Producer Price Index
09:00 EU Current Account
15:00 US CB Leading Indicator
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