ANALYST VIEWS: HOW WERE RYANAIR’S RESULTS? January 30, 2012 GERT ZONNEVELD | PANMURE GORDON Numbers came in ahead of expectations. Over the medium term the anticipated capacity growth deceleration should drive further profit growth and strong cash generation. We retain our Buy recommendation. JONATHAN JACKSON | KILLIK Passenger numbers were down two per cent to 16.7m, offset by a 17 per cent increase in [...]
Banks pull FTSE back as Greece crisis festers January 30, 2012 The FTSE 100 tracked losses across Europe in early trading as the negotiations in Athens over Greece’s disastrous finances showed few signs of success. Greece and its private creditors have so far failed to come up with an agreement on debt swap talks, needed to avoid a default. Meanwhile a European summit focused on growth [...]
Ryanair lifts profit forecast January 30, 2012 Ryanair has raised its profit forecast, saying higher ticket prices were more than making up for expensive fuel and reduced capacity, underlining the resilience of its low-cost sector as legacy carriers struggle. The Irish low cost carrier, Europe’s largest, increased its full year profit forecast by nine per cent to £480m euros (£403m) after posting [...]
It is now Time For Rupert to show his class January 26, 2012 ANYONE keeping an eye on the ante-post market for the RSA Chase in recent weeks will have observed that the layers seem to be bracing themselves for Grands Crus’ defection to the Gold Cup. The likes of Bobs Worth, Last Instalment and Join Together have shortened dramatically, while Grands Crus is out to as big [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS January 24, 2012 RYANAIR Espirito Santo rates the airline “buy” and has a target price of €4.60. The broker is expecting the firm to post a net loss of €18m in its quarterly results next week, on revenues of €806m. It thinks Ryanair’s current trading is on track and that the firm’s decision to cut capacity over the [...]
Air Asia X axes only UK route January 12, 2012 EUROPE’S laws and taxes on airlines were brought into sharp focus yesterday, as routes were scrapped and Ryanair hiked its charges in response to regulations. Low-cost carrier Air Asia X ditched its Gatwick to Kuala Lumpur flight as part of its withdrawal from unprofitable routes over the next year. Its only UK route, which was [...]
Ryanair traffic dips after fuel cost grounds planes January 5, 2012 RYANAIR suffered a five per cent drop in passenger numbers in December compared to last year, after it grounded up to 80 aircraft to offset higher fuel costs. But the low-cost carrier’s annual traffic has risen 5.1 per cent to 76.4m in spite of the bigger-than-usual stoppages. Ryanair’s load factor, a measure of how many [...]
Margaret Thatcher’s legacy is that no-one tries to scrap what the Iron Lady achieved January 5, 2012 THIS isn’t a review of The Iron Lady, starring Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher and on general release in cinemas this week [For this, see p. 18]. I’m sure it’s a fine film and I’ll see it once I can scrape together the money from my dwindling pension for a pair of tickets and some [...]
Virgin vows to fight on as BA wins BMI December 22, 2011 SIR RICHARD Branson was left fuming yesterday after British Airways parent IAG pipped Virgin Atlantic to a deal to buy BMI for £172.5m. Branson said IAG’s purchase of the loss-making airline “simply cuts consumer choice and screws the travelling public. “BA is already dominant at Heathrow and their removal of BMI just tightens their stranglehold [...]
Bach, Goethe…and you: a weekend in Leipzig December 18, 2011 YES, Germany is well-known for its conference facilities and, yes, for weekenders, we British love the down and dirty vibe of the new Berlin and the madness of Munich’s Oktoberfest, but much of the country has lain forgotten by visitors in recent years, yet it’s only a 90-minute flight away. In the east, the fall [...]