After Friday’s impressive monthly passenger numbers from Ryanair, this morning has seen the release of quarterly earnings from the low cost airline and critically, despite cutting air fares, margins have ticked higher. However, reading through the note, it is awash with caution – rising costs from higher staff payments, the potential for fall out from further negotiations with staff, Brexit uncertainty and the fact the company is a lot less optimistic about fares continuing to rise into the summer. All-important ancillary revenues continue to tick higher, but the outlook is far from assured.
Retail giant Tesco continues to trundle forward with its acquisition of Booker, the wholesale supplier to many local convenience stores. The final document regarding the deal is set to be published later today, which will include an update on the state of Tesco’s finances. In a note issued this morning, profits for the year are expected to come in at or above £1.575bn, which is critically towards the upper end of expectations. On top of this, a final dividend of 2p per share will be declared, putting the full year payment at 3p, slightly above average expectations, again giving the market something to cheer.
There’s a statement out from media owner Trinity Mirror this morning, acknowledging weekend media speculation surrounding talks with fellow publisher Northern & Shell. This is very much a standard announcement noting that talks between the two parties are ongoing but offering nu further clarification. Often however these statements force the issue – watch this space as it could pave the way for more consolidation in the UK media.
