Three things you need to know in the financial markets this morning from investment writer, Tony Cross.
Ryanair [LON:RYA]
There’s a cautionary note from Ryanair out this morning regarding the impact delivery delays on the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft will have on the business. Rather than having almost 60 of the type in the fleet by next summer, the expectation is that the number will be around half of that. The company is using this as a catalyst for revising its schedules both for this coming winter and next summer as a result and openly acknowledges the worst performing routes will be cut as a result, but expects growth to normalise in the summer of 2021.
Burberry LON:BRBY
There’s a Q1 trading update from Burberry out today, which notably shows encouraging signs of growth in the Chinese market, with growth rates in the mid-teen percentage points being recorded. Overall sales were up around 4% but the company added that it expects performance for the year to be weighted into the second half. Do even better times lie ahead for the iconic fashion brand?
Hays LON:HAS
A broadly uninspiring quarterly update has been published from recruiter Hays, showing no change in fee income from a year ago. Noting tough comparatives and the timing of Easter, full year profits are still expected to be in line with expectations. Trading activity in the UK – particularly in the private sector – was noted as being subdued, whilst activity in Australia also slowed ahead of the country’s general election. The company remains exposed to macroeconomic and geopolitical factors over which it has no control, although the broad global diversification – UK accounts for less than a quarter of all income now – provides some mitigation here.
