Tag Archives: financial performance

Travel

Vaccines spice up travel stocks | Instant News


Illustration by Elias Stein Text size For much of the past year, travel-related companies have been posters for the companies that have been most disrupted by Covid-19. Although bets on an economic recovery rose, stocks remained severely depressed. Recently, they have shown a bit of pizzazz. The US Global Jets exchange-traded fund is up 17% this year, compared to 3% for the S&P 500 index. The latest bump came as vaccines were more widely distributed and airlines moved. started to see an improvement, albeit modest, in operational parameters. Investors seem increasingly optimistic that travel will recover significantly as the pace of vaccinations picks up. Airlines are lining up more money from Washington, with $ 14 billion in aid likely as part of the $ 1.9 trillion stimulus bill. Domestic traffic, revenues and bookings are all increasing, says UBS analyst Myles Walton, who sees the situation improving further. Investors are also betting that domestic flights will rebound before international routes and that leisure travel will recover before business. The biggest winners of the year were US-focused carriers such as Spirit Airlines and JetBlue Airways, up 48% and 29%, respectively. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, Carnival and Royal Caribbean Group also grew at least 23% in 2021. Carnival has raised capital twice this year, selling $ 1 billion in stocks and $ 3.5 billion in non-debt. guarantees to consolidate its liquidity. Unsecured debt means lenders haven’t demanded collateral, betting Carnival will be able to repay its loans out of profits. Equity investors want to own part of the business and don’t see it going into insolvency. Inflation Fix Last Week The S&P 500 had its biggest day since June Monday, with all 11 sectors up, led by the 3.2% rise in tech. But questions about bond yields, inflation and the Federal Reserve persisted. Volatility rose, as tech stocks slipped, then indexes plunged after the Fed’s Jerome Powell stuck to his easy money policy, then rallied despite big jobs numbers that did raise bond yields. Over the week, the Dow industry rose 1.8% to 31,496.30; the S&P 500 edged up 0.8% to 3,841.94; and the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.1%, to 12,920.15.A Vaccine Deal The Food and Drug Administration has approved the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine, while the White House negotiated a deal with Merck for the ‘help produce it. President Biden announced that there will be enough vaccine to immunize all American adults by the end of May. He also prioritized teachers and school staff for vaccinations by the end of March. Texas and Mississippi abandoned mask mandates and opened businesses; Biden called the movements “Neanderthal”. The relief bill, meanwhile, has been sent to the Senate and discussions continue on the minimum wage. Climate change The American Petroleum Institute has approved a price for carbon emissions. Exxon Mobil has added two new board members, activist investor Jeffrey Ubben and former Comcast CFO Michael Angelakis, leaving out activist Engine No.1, who had sought four seats. And Texas’ largest cooperative electricity supplier, Brazos Electric Power, has filed for bankruptcy after being hit by $ 2.1 billion in bills following the recent freeze. the “gamification” of stock trading – a response to the GameStop episode – and the increasing concentration of retail execution. Almost all of Biden’s nominees have been approved. The exception: Neera Tanden, whose leadership appointment in the Office of Management and Budget was withdrawn by the White House after failing to get the votes. Buffett on Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett buyouts in his annual letter was down on fixed income and up on share buybacks, praising one of the company’s “four gems”, Apple, for its buyback program. Berkshire has stepped up its own buyouts. Annals of Deal-Making It’s been a great week for Apollo Global Management. The private equity giant pocketed Las Vegas Sands for $ 6.3 billion as the casino company left Vegas; said he was taking private Michaels craft chain for $ 3.3 billion, the chain’s second buyout; and talked about taking the online photo company Shutterfly public through a PSPC. And it found itself competing for the assets of bankrupt Greensill Capital, after SoftBank-backed fintech filed for insolvency in the UK and German regulators took the case to court. Write to Nicholas Jasinski at [email protected] and to Daren Fonda at [email protected]



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Travel

Booking stock gains despite continued erosion of online travel activity | Instant News


Booking Holdings Inc.’s operations continued to struggle with the COVID-19 pandemic at the end of 2020, but held up better than analysts expected. Booking BKNG, + 3.57%, known as Priceline before changing its corporate name to one of its other online travel brands, said fourth-quarter losses on Wednesday of $ 165 million, or 4 .02 dollars per share, down from earnings of $ 27.75 per share. in the same quarter a year ago. Sales fell to $ 1.24 billion from $ 3.34 billion during the 2019 holiday season. After adjusting for some tax impacts and other costs, Booking recorded a loss of 57 cents per share, down compared to adjusted earnings of $ 23.30 per share a year ago. Analysts on average expected adjusted losses of $ 4.28 per share on sales of $ 1.2 billion, according to FactSet. Shares gained around 2% after hours of trading following the release of results. The travel industry came under fire during the COVID-19 pandemic and the decline worsened in the last quarter of the year, with the coronavirus causing more lockdowns. Chief Executive Officer Glenn Fogel issued a note of hope in a statement during Wednesday’s announcement. “The travel environment continued to be difficult during the fourth quarter of 2020 and through January 2021 as the number of COVID-19 cases remained very high and travel restrictions were reimposed in many. regions of the world, ”Fogel said. “However, in recent weeks we have started to see improvements in booking trends which we will continue to monitor.” Although Booking did not provide a forecast for the first quarter in Wednesday’s announcement, analysts expected any recovery to start further into 2021. “Given the likelihood of lockdowns extending as far as in March (notably in the UK) we expect a reset is needed for 1H: 21 Street forecasts (with our estimates) as intra-quarterly travel is muffled, although this should be to some extent within the expectations, ”Stifel analysts wrote in an online travel revenue snapshot earlier this month. “We believe the situation looks more favorable over a 12 to 18 month period for Booking, given the strong leverage effect on leisure travel, exposure to alternative accommodation and the ability to generate revenue.” Investors have been betting heavily on a possible turnaround, as Booking shares jumped over 27% last month and are now up over 36% last year, while the S&P 500 SPX index, +1, 14%, increased by 20.3%. Some of these gains appear to be linked to the initial public offering and early trading by Airbnb Inc. ABNB, + 6.72%, which sells full-residence accommodation instead of hotels – Booking and another rival, Expedia Group Inc. EXPE, + 1.93%, offer similar options in their brand portfolios. “A public assessment of Expedia’s alternative accommodation portfolio in the form of Airbnb seems to suggest a significant pricing error one way or the other” and “a similar argument can be made for Booking on a sum basis parts relating to Airbnb, ”Wedbush analysts wrote earlier this month, while improving Expedia’s stock and raising their reservation price target. Airbnb, which is worth more than Booking despite being considerably smaller, is expected to publish its results for the first time as a public company on Thursday afternoon. Airbnb stock, which sold for $ 68 when it went public in December, closed at more than $ 200 on Wednesday. .



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Travel

Airbnb’s first profits since its IPO could be an indicator for the travel industry in 2021 | Instant News


Airbnb Inc.’s business was decimated by the coronavirus pandemic, but quickly rebounded to the point that it had one of the biggest initial public offerings of 2020. Now is the time to find out what is expected. for 2021. Airbnb ABNB, -5.19% will report financial results for the first time since going public on Thursday afternoon, ending a blistering year for the company and a difficult year for the travel industry. So far, it appears that the online accommodation booking platform has been better positioned to deal with the pandemic than other companies in the travel industry, as travelers have finally sought out getaways near their homes where they could. avoid other people. Airbnb “has shown it to be more resilient to this particular shock of traveling,” said Tom White, analyst at DA Davidson. Airbnb reported third-quarter profit of $ 219 million, in part thanks to aggressive cost-cutting measures it implemented, on revenue of $ 1.34 billion – its second largest quarter never recorded. But an increase in COVID-19 cases in the fourth quarter led to further travel restrictions, which weighed on other companies in the industry, such as Expedia EXPE, -0.73%, and could also be reflected in Airbnb results – Analysts expect less than $ 750 million in fourth quarter revenue. The prospects offered by Airbnb could be greater for Airbnb and the travel industry. Airbnb released a report at the end of January in which it cited the results of its own survey as saying, “A majority of Americans (54%) have already booked, are currently planning to travel, or are planning to travel in 2021.” It remains to be seen whether travelers will still be pitted against Airbnb’s main competition: hotels. “Unless there is a structural change in traveler behavior, the change in preference is likely to be gradual, especially when hotels are back on a level playing field,” KeyBanc Capital Markets’ Justin Patterson wrote in a recent note. What to expect Profits: Analysts polled by FactSet are forecasting an average loss of $ 8.41 per share, largely thanks to the equity compensation costs of Airbnb’s IPO. Estimize, which brings together estimates from analysts, hedge fund managers, executives and more, expects a loss of $ 6.09 per share on average. Revenue: Analysts are expecting an average of $ 739.4 million in revenue, according to FactSet. The estimate is $ 775.9 million. Stock movement: Airbnb shares gained 35% during their period in public markets, while the S&P 500 SPX index, -0.49%, rose 6.5% during this period. a quarter-over-quarter slowdown in the fourth quarter in Europe and “lingering weakness” in the first quarter. But they said they believed Airbnb would withstand a downturn better than other online travel companies “given its focus on alternative accommodation inventory.” Growth: Airbnb continued to outperform hotels and OTAs in December year over year, KeyBanc analysts wrote in a note, which also said Airbnb and its smaller rival Vrbo had experienced positive growth year-over-year spending in January. The CFRA said in a note that it expects a strong rebound in bookings in 2021, including monthly bookings exceeding previous peak levels by the end of the summer. Regulatory risks: Airbnb faces bans and restrictions on stays or listings in different regions of the world. In his home country, he may also be affected by efforts to amend or reject section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which, among other things, protects him and other companies based in line, of any responsibility for the words and actions of their users. Sucharita Kodali, an analyst at Forrester, said that if Section 230 “was canceled, it would dramatically change all markets.” Without Section 230, she said Airbnb would have “a lot more than it needs to master,” as it could potentially face lawsuits for rental clauses, property damage and violence. Of 29 analysts polled by FactSet, 10 have a buy rating on Airbnb stock, while 16 have a hold, two say sell and one considers the stock’s overweighting. The average price target was $ 164.65 on Monday, when the stock closed at $ 195.34. .



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Australia

Texas Blackout Raises Australian Banks To $ 215 Million | Instant News


Freeze it plunging millions of Texans into darkness rippling through energy markets in unpredictable ways, yielding financial gains for Australian banks and severe suffering for other companies caught in the disruption.

Extreme weather froze wind turbines and oil and gas wells, shut down oil refineries and pushed power plants out of operation, sending shocks through energy markets. Wholesale electricity prices skyrocketed, as did spot prices for natural gas in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Arkansas.

The turbulence brings profit to commodity traders at Macquarie Group Ltd. Australia, whose ability to deliver gas and electricity across the country allows it to take advantage of soaring demand and prices in states like Texas.

The bank raised its guidance on Monday for revenue this year through March to reflect windfall winds. It said that the net profit after tax would be 5% to 10% higher than for fiscal year 2020. That equates to an increase of up to 273.1 million Australian dollars or the equivalent of approximately $ 215 million. In an earlier guide, issued Feb.9, Macquarie said it expects profits to drop slightly in 2020.

“Extreme winter weather conditions in North America have significantly increased short-term client demand for Macquarie’s ability to maintain critical physical supplies across the commodity complex, and in particular in relation to gas and electricity,” the bank said.

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Switzerland

Credit Suisse Booked Losses Despite Encouraging Investment Bank | Instant News


Credit Suisse Group AG said a strong start to the first quarter boosted its growth ambitions this year large legal fees and impairment pushing it to a fourth quarter loss.

The Swiss bank reported a loss of 353 million Swiss francs Thursday, the equivalent of $ 393 million, for the fourth quarter. Analysts estimated the loss to be around 566 million Swiss francs.

Even in a difficult year, Credit Suisse fared better than many European rivals as its loans in Switzerland and the global wealthy were caught in the pandemic. Together with Wall Street competitors, his investment bank booked additional fees from clients trading in the volatile market last year and from companies that raised capital or needed deal advice.

On Thursday, it said the investment banking arm experienced a more than fivefold jump in pretax profit to $ 318 million in the fourth quarter, with the largest revenue contribution coming from helping companies increase their equity and bond financing.

Fourth quarter profit before tax also rose in Credit Suisse Asia-Pacific division, by 18% to 237 million Swiss francs, while revenue and profit before tax fell at Swiss banks and international wealth management units.

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