TUI posts positive underlying profit, TRIG buys Fig Power

Stocks to watch

Travel agency company TUI has registered a positive quarterly underlying profit for the first time after a record performance in the first quarter, as it reiterated its guidance for the full year. The company booked underlying earnings before interest and tax of €6m for the three months to 31 December, moving into the black for the first time since the merger of TUI AG and TUI Travel PLC in 2014. Group revenues were up 15% year-on-year at €4.3bn, driven by higher demand at improved rates and prices, the company said.

The Renewables Infrastructure Group has bought Fig Power, an energy projects developer based in Bristol, for an outlay of £20m over the next two years. Fig Power has a 1.7GW development pipeline in the UK, including nine more advanced projects of around 400MW with grid offers ranging from 2025 to 2033 and a further 1.3GW of exclusive sites, TRIG said on Tuesday.

Newspaper round-up

MPs have warned that a planned fleet of small nuclear reactors are unlikely to contribute to hitting a key target in decarbonising Britain’s electricity generation, as the government opened talks to buy a site in Wales for a new power station. The Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) said that ministers’ approach to developing factory-built nuclear power plants “lacks clarity” and their role in hitting a goal of moving the grid to clean energy by 2035 was unclear. – Guardian

The former Post Office boss Paula Vennells gave Fujitsu a bonus contract in 2013 to take over an archive of branch data, despite warnings such a move would destroy evidence that might clear operators, whistleblowers have said. Transaction information was “replatformed” on cost grounds from a “gold standard” external storage system known as Centera to one owned by the Japanese software company running the Post Office’s Horizon IT network. – Guardian

A Mayfair fund has taken a £120m stake in ITV as the broadcaster grapples with a deep advertising downturn and slump in its market value. Silchester International Investors has become one of ITV’s largest shareholders after snapping up a 5pc stake in the business. The media-shy fund, which has also built a £500m stake in advertising giant WPP, states that its investment philosophy is to identify fairly valued businesses “capable of increasing earnings, assets and dividends by their own efforts”. – Telegraph

A crisis that almost brought down Metro Bank in the autumn has derailed its plan to open branches and create jobs in the north of England in return for a £70 million grant. Metro had pledged to take on 300 staff to serve 15 new high street sites by the end of next year as part of commitments made to secure money from a £775 million pot. The funding was meant to increase competition and services in business banking. – The Times

Staff at RSM and Quantuma are alleged to have wrongfully received tip-offs about potential work from government insolvency staff in a scandal that is being examined by regulators and that has led to the dismissals of at least four people. Employees of the accountancy and restructuring firms allegedly received “case data” from staff at the Official Receiver, part of the government’s Insolvency Service. – The Times

US close

US equity markets finished mixed on Monday as stocks searched for direction ahead of key inflation data, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 slipping into the red but the Dow notching its 12th record close of the year.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, which had been trading higher earlier on, took a dive in late-afternoon trade to finish down 0.09% and 0.30%, respectively, while the Dow gained 0.3% to 38,797.38 – a new all-time closing high.

However, on Monday, Federal Reserve governor Michelle Bowman said it was "too soon to predict" when the central bank will look to start cutting interest rates or even just how far the cuts will go, adding that she does not think it appropriate to begin cuts in the "immediate future."

The corporate earnings calendar was relatively quiet on Monday after a busy few weeks, but things will pick up in the coming days, with Lyft, DoorDash, Kraft Heinz, Hasbro and Coca-Cola all set to report before the week is out.