Three things you need to know in the financial markets this morning from investment writer, Tony Cross.
Intercontinental Hotels
Intercontinental Hotels LON:IHG, the name behind brands including Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza, has this morning published Q1 results. The sector’s much-watched RevPAR rate shows a fall of 33.7% against Q1 ’20 but a more pronounced 50.6% drop from the 2019 figure. The strongest market on this metric has been the Americas, whilst the rolling back of temporary travel restrictions in China saw a quick rebound in occupancy rates there. The rest of the world continues to struggle, with RevPAR down more than 70% from 2019, whilst occupancy rates remain sluggish, too. The company notes it has $2.1bn worth of liquidity on hand, continues to expand its hotel portfolio and expects to see recovery through the year ahead.
IAG
Sticking with travel and IAG LON:IAG, the owners of British Airways, have published their Q1 numbers today too. An operating loss of EUR1,068m has been posted, which is a marked improvement on the EUR1,860m seen a year ago, but the company adds that it has in excess of EUR10bn worth of liquidity on hand. That said, with cash burn at EUR175m a week, it’s clear why there’s a degree of urgency to see international flights returning to more normal schedules. Guidance remains withdrawn given the uncertainty over international travel and today’s anticipated government statement over travel can’t come soon enough.
TekCapital
AIM-listed TekCapital LON:TEK has advised this morning that one of its portfolio companies, Belluscura, intends to float. An indicative valuation of £50-£55m been suggested and back in March, Tek raised fresh cash to up its stake here to owning 17% of the business – around £8m worth on today’s valuation. Tek’s market cap is just over £16m – the share price reaction here today will be worth noting to see if they made the right call earlier in the year.
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