Royal Mail to slash dividend 40 per cent as profit drops by a third May 22, 2019 Royal Mail said today it will cut its dividend 40 per cent from next year as it earmarks extra cash to invest in the business. The figures The company today announced a drop in operating profit of 34 per cent. It said operating profit after transformation costs for the 52 weeks ended March 2019 was [...]
SSE falls ‘well short’ of hopes, chairman admits as thousands of customers flee May 22, 2019 The chair of energy giant SSE today said his company’s results “fell well short” of what the board had hoped, in a year when 550,000 customers left the business. The company also created a board of directors for its retail arm, saying it wants to spin the unit off by the second half of next year. [...]
Private jet departures from UK take a four per cent knock in April May 21, 2019 Private jet departures from the UK took a downward turn last month, as the number of aircraft registered in Europe fell. The number of business aircraft departures in the UK fell last month by 4.1 per cent on the previous year, compared with 3.1 per cent for Europe as a whole. London-based Colibri Aircraft, which [...]
Is two-year low the nadir for IAG shares? May 21, 2019 | City Talk Investors have taken these results as a cue to pick up cheap stock, betting that the worst is over. In the context of its financial year, the first quarter will probably be one which International Consolidated Airlines Group (LSE:IAG) will want to forget. As can be seen from the demise of several smaller airlines over [...]
Want to spark an e-scooter revolution in London? Ditch the language of conquest May 21, 2019 When Germany’s politicians gave electric scooters the green light last Friday, they instantly created Europe’s largest market for this new mode of transport, while making Britain the last remaining major country in the continent not to approve e-scooters for use on roads. Pressure is now mounting on British politicians to overturn the ban on e-scooters, [...]
DEBATE: Is it time to accept the sunk cost and scrap HS2? May 21, 2019 Is it time to accept the sunk cost and scrap HS2? Andrew Bridgen, Conservative MP for North West Leicestershire, says YES. There is a saying that “your first loss is your best loss”. This is where we are with HS2, with its escalating costs and diminishing public support. Initially, the HS2 budget was set at [...]
Thomas Cook’s share price rises after last week’s massive market plunge May 21, 2019 Thomas Cook’s shares shot up in early trading today, but not enough to offset a huge stock market slump over the last week. Read more: Thomas Cook reassures customers as shares continue to crash The struggling travel agent’s share price rose 16 per cent this morning to 11.9p after falling to under 10p yesterday. However, [...]
Ford announces 7,000 job cuts as US car maker moves up a gear in restructuring plan May 20, 2019 Ford is to cut around one-tenth of its global salaried workforce by the end of August as part of a major global restructuring plan. Read more: Ford gears up to announce up to 550 white collar job losses in UK The move to shed 7,000 workers this summer is expected to save the firm $600m [...]
Jaguar Land Rover suffers £3.6bn annual loss as key Chinese market splutters to a halt May 20, 2019 The Indian-owned British automotive giant Jaguar-Land Rover (JLR) has posted a £3.6bn annual loss as the faltering Chinese car market weakened significantly. The annual figures were heavily-impacted by a £3.1bn write down in the third quarter, to cover falling demand for newer models, as well as for diesel-powered cars. The figures The car manufacturer, which [...]
Airline and travel stocks take a hit following Ryanair profit drop May 20, 2019 Airline and travel stocks have taken a tumble following Ryanair's profit slide, which it blamed on Brexit uncertainty and stuff competition in Europe. Holiday firm Tui is the biggest faller on the FTSE 100 today, with its shares down 3.79 per cent at the time of writing. Easyjet shares were down just over two per [...]