Flight cancellations due to strikes may be spoiling holiday plans across Europe this summer, but thankfully it’s a far cry from last year’s chaos. And that spells good news for airlines. EasyJet, first out of the block among European carriers to report results for the April to June quarter, swung to a pretax profit in the period, beating estimates. Not only that, bookings for the winter season aren’t looking too shabby either.
Here’s the key business news from London this morning:
In The City
EasyJet Plc: The low-cost airline’s fiscal third-quarter profit beat analyst estimates and predicted strong travel momentum into the end of the year, while cautioning that strikes across the industry create “challenging conditions” during the peak travel period.
- “Moving into this winter, EasyJet is seeing good booking momentum, with sold ticket yields and load factors ahead year on year, and planned capacity up over 15% for the December quarter,” the company said
- Discount carriers have benefited from the surge in demand this summer as people jetted abroad for sunny vacations after a travel lull due to Covid-19
International Distributions Services Plc: The company named Martin Seidenberg, the head of its GLS unit, as its new chief executive. IDS lauded Seidenberg’s leadership skills, noting that GLS has grown to “nearly 40% of group revenue.” His track record makes him the perfect pick “at this critical juncture,” it said.
- Royal Mail’s total parcel volumes dropped by 10% in the through months through June, partly due to fewer shipments of Covid-19 test kits when compared to last year
Asda: The UK’s third-largest supermarket chain said it will cut prices of over 200 products by an average of 9% from Friday.
- That’s as Asda co-owner Mohsin Issa was recalled to Parliament to answer questions on the price of gas at its forecourts around the country, after the UK antitrust regulator said its margins on fuel had tripled
In Westminster
A wave of strikes on Britain’s rail network and the London Underground will cost bars and restaurants in the UK capital some £210 million in lost revenue, according to an estimate from trade group UKHospitality.
Nigel Farage has called for a parliamentary inquiry into why a unit of NatWest Group Plc closed his bank account, as the decision draws increasing criticism from Conservative lawmakers.
Finally, here’s a deep dive into how Britain took a step toward saving its ailing car industry.
In Case You Missed It
Jens Grede, co-founder and chief executive of Kim Kardashian’s new underwear label Skims says he finds inspiration in the creation story behind Nike’s Air Jordans. Next year, Skims will open stores in New York and Los Angeles. But it also has an aggressive, global expansion plan that starts in the UK.
Looking Ahead
Glencore Plc wraps up the week with its production report for the first half. Investors are eager to see whether the commodities giant will revise its guidance for trading profits of $2.2 billion to $3.2 billion this year. Any potential M&A updates will be in focus as well.
The Swiss firm last month offered to buy Teck Resources Ltd.’s coal unit after the Canadian miner had rejected a full takeover. The businesses’ complementary strengths “could pave the way for a credible joint climate transition plan,” according to BloombergNEF’s Danya Liu.
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--With assistance from Gabriela Mello.