(Alliance News) - Ryanair Holdings swung to a third-quarter net profit on a strong Christmas period, but said on Monday that delivery of the Boeing 737 MAX jet was unlikely until the autumn, setting back the budget airline's growth plan.
Ryanair said it swung to a third quarter net profit of EUR88 million from a EUR66 million loss a year before. Revenue for the quarter ended December 31 came in at EUR1.91 billion, up 21% from EUR1.58 billion a year ago, in what is a seasonally weak period for airlines.
Ryanair reported passenger growth of 6% to 35.9 million from 33.8 million, while its passenger load factor was 96%, up from 95% a year previous.
Ryanair said the first Boeing 737 MAX delivery is unlikely before September or October. Due to the delay in receiving delivery, it will not see any of the expected cost savings from the fuel-efficient jet until late 2021 and as a result plans to extend its 200 million passenger per annum target by at "least one or two years" to financial 2025 or 2026.
Ryanair expects annual earnings in financial 2020 to be at the mid-point of its latest profit after tax guidance. Earlier this month, Ryanair upped its annual profit after tax guidance range to between EUR950 million and EUR1.1 billion.
The stock was up 3.6% in early trading in London on Monday.
Here is what you need to know at the market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: up 0.2% at 7,303.58
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Hang Seng: up 0.1% at 26,350.51
Nikkei 225: closed down 1.0% at 22,971.94
DJIA: closed down 603.41 points, 2.1%, at 28,256.03
S&P 500: closed down 1.8% at 3,225.52
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GBP: down at USD1.3145 (USD1.3186)
EUR: down at USD1.1072 (USD1.1083)
Gold: down at USD1,574.80 per ounce (USD1,586.60)
Oil (Brent): down at USD56.37 a barrel (USD56.86)
(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Monday's Key Economic Events still to come
0930 GMT UK manufacturing purchasing managers' index
0955 CET Germany manufacturing PMI
1000 CET EU eurozone manufacturing PMI
0945 EST US manufacturing PMI
1000 EST US ISM manufacturing report on business
1000 EST US construction spending
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Eleven more evacuees from coronavirus-hit China are beginning a two-week quarantine period after they were flown back to the UK on Sunday evening. The British nationals and family members arrived at RAF Brize Norton on a flight from France shortly before 8pm and will join 83 people already in isolation at Arrowe Park Hospital in the Wirral. The latest repatriation flight came as a man in the Philippines became the first person to die from the virus outside China, where the death toll has risen above 300. Chinese authorities said the number of confirmed cases of infection had increased to 14,380. A University of York student and their relative remain the only two confirmed cases in the UK and the pair are being treated at a specialist unit in Newcastle.
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Most manufacturers believe the UK's exit from the European Union will have an impact on their business, with barriers to growth including a shortage of skilled workers, a new study suggests. Research by advisory firm Crowe & the Confederation of British Metalforming indicated that most firms viewed hiring foreign employees as positive. Future tariffs and global economic conditions were the main concerns of manufacturing firms for 2020, said the report. Despite uncertainty over the impact of Brexit, there was a cautious mood of optimism for economic growth prospects this year, it was found.
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Profits at UK-listed companies fell for the second quarter in-a-row in the final three months of 2019, according to a new report. Revenues also sank during the period for the first time in three years, with low oil prices helping to intensify the earnings recession for listed businesses, The Share Centre's Profit Watch research found. Profits dropped 10% on average during the three-month period – making it the third consecutive quarter to see more than half of listed companies reporting lower profits. The proportion of companies growing their bottom line has declined from a peak of 70% in 2017 and is now the lowest since the last economic recession a decade ago, at 49%, the report added.
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The man shot dead by police following a stabbing attack in south London was a convicted terrorist who had recently been released from prison and was under surveillance. Fanatic Sudesh Amman, 20, who was jailed for possessing and distributing terrorist documents in December 2018, had been freed in the past six weeks. He was released despite a warning that he posed a continued risk, prompting renewed concerns about how convicted terrorists are dealt with in the justice system. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he will announce plans on Monday for "fundamental changes to the system for dealing with those convicted of terrorism offences" following the Streatham attack. He had already promised changes following the London Bridge attack in November when another recently-released terrorist, Usman Khan, stabbed two people to death while wearing a fake suicide vest at a prisoner rehabilitation event in Fishmongers' Hall.
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The Irish manufacturing sector made a strong start to 2020 with a return to expansion, as well as increased optimism, survey data from AIB and IHS Markit revealed. The AIB manufacturing purchasing managers' index stood at 51.4 in January, up from 49.5 in December, the first reading above the neutral threshold since October, and the highest turnout since April 2019. AIB said the upturn was due to stronger underlying demand for Irish manufactured goods, as new orders rose on higher export demand, as the US economy stabilised and the UK market improved.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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BARCLAYS RAISES SSE TO 'OVERWEIGHT' ('EQUAL WEIGHT') - TP 1650 (1300) PENCE
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BARCLAYS RAISES DRAX GROUP TO 'OVERWEIGHT' (EQUAL WEIGHT) - TP 535 (333) PENCE
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HSBC RAISES TALKTALK TELECOM TO 'HOLD' ('REDUCE') - TARGET 115 (95) PENCE
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JPMORGAN RAISES BRITVIC TO 'OVERWEIGHT' ('NEUTRAL') - TARGET 1065 PENCE
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JEFFERIES CUTS MCCARTHY & STONE TO 'HOLD' ('BUY') - TARGET 168 (171) PENCE
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Imperial Brands has poached car dealer Inchcape's chief executive. Imperial Brands said Stefan Bomhard is to join the board as chief executive officer, effective at a start date to be announced. He will join the tobacco company from Inchcape where he has been CEO for the past five years. Inchcape said a search to find a new CEO is underway. Imperial added that Alison Cooper has stepped down as chief executive and as a board director with immediate effect now that a replacement has been found for her.
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Just Eat Takeaway.com shares are to start trading on the London Stock Exchange on Monday following the merger of online takeaway platforms Just Eat and Dutch rival Takeaway.com becoming wholly unconditional. The deal is being investigated by the UK Competition & Markets Authority, but the company is confident the deal will be given the green light by the regulator. Just Eat Takeaway CEO Jitse Groen said: "Today's listing on the London Stock Exchange marks the beginning of a new era for our company. The Just Eat Takeaway.com merger provides the scale that is a necessary condition to remain competitive in a globalised environment."
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COMPANIES - INTERNATIONAL
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Westpac Banking has been hit with two class action lawsuits from investors who purchased shares in the Australian financial services firm over a four-year period, with New York-based Bernstein Liebhard the latest to confirm legal action. Bernstein Liebhard hit out at Westpac for not assessing and monitoring the "ongoing money laundering and terrorism financing risks associated with movement of money into and out of Australia". The action is related to share purchases made between November 2015 and November 2019. Westpac on Saturday confirmed that Rosen Law Firm, also based in New York, filed a class action suit. The measures are also related to share purchases made over the same four-year period. Westpac said: "The claim seeks to recover damages of an unspecified amount and relates to market disclosure issues connected to Westpac's monitoring of financial crime over the relevant period."
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Monday's Shareholder Meetings
JPMorgan Chinese IT
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com
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