Papa John’s Sales Spike as Nervous Americans Gorge on Pizza

If you ordered in pizza on election night, you weren’t alone. Papa John International Inc. saw a big spike in pizza sales on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, its top executive said — though not enough to skew the next quarter’s results.

“It was a huge night for us,” Chief Executive Officer Rob Lynch said in a phone interview after the chain reported third-quarter profit that surpassed analysts’ expectations.

Normally, pizza delivery sales return to about normal the day after an election, but this year, that heightened demand for comforting pepperoni pies pushed into Wednesday as vote counting continued. The company on Thursday morning reported its fifth straight quarter of same-store sales growth as the virus boosts demand for takeout and delivery.

“Let’s just say that as long as the election keeps going, we’re hoping that people keep eating pizza,” Lynch said of election night. “But hopefully that will come to an end sooner as opposed to later.”

PIF to invest ₹9,555 cr. for 2% in Reliance Retail Ventures

The Public Investment Fund (PIF), the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia, has signed definitive documentation to acquire a 2.04% equity stake in Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd. (RRVL), the subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) for ₹9,555 crore.

The investment is in line with PIF’s strategy and mandate to invest ‘globally in innovative and transformative’ businesses that generate long-term commercial returns, RIL said in a statement.

This investment values RRVL at a pre-money equity value of ₹4.59 lakh crore (or approximately $62.4 billion). The investment in RRVL follows PIF’s earlier acquisition of a 2.32% stake in Jio Platforms.

Mukesh Ambani, CMD, RIL said, “PIF is at the forefront of the economic transformation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. I welcome PIF as a valued partner in Reliance Retail and look forward to their sustained support and guidance.”

Denmark Covid-19 Virus Mutation Leads to New Restrictions

Denmark is imposing a new set of restrictions on movement after discovering a dangerous mutation of Covid-19 in the country’s mink population.

Health officials say the new strain of the virus that they’ve found affects the spike protein, potentially threating efforts to develop a vaccine.

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is due to hold a press briefing on the situation later on Thursday. Her government is planning to cull up to 17 million mink in an effort to contain the outbreak.

The World Health Organization says it’s in touch with Danish authorities “to find out more about this event.”

There are so far 12 known cases of humans having been infected by the new virus strain in Denmark. Cases of Covid-19 were found in 217 out of 1,139 Danish mink farms, the government said on Wednesday.

People who have contracted the new form of the virus don’t appear to be suffering more severe symptoms, according to Danish health officials. The virus was most likely originally transmitted to the mink from humans, and then back again.

The new restrictions will apply to northern Jutland, which is part of western Denmark, and home to the country’s mink production.

Consolidated Edison Inc. Q3 adjusted earnings Miss Estimates

Consolidated Edison Inc. (ED) revealed a profit for its third quarter that climbed from the same period last year.

The company’s bottom line came in at $493 million, or $1.47 per share. This compares with $473 million, or $1.42 per share, in last year’s third quarter.

Excluding items, Consolidated Edison Inc. reported adjusted earnings of $495 million or $1.48 per share for the period.

Analysts had expected the company to earn $1.50 per share, according to figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts’ estimates typically exclude special items.

Consolidated Edison Inc. earnings at a glance:

-Earnings (Q3): $495 Mln. vs. $513 Mln. last year.
-EPS (Q3): $1.48 vs. $1.54 last year.
-Analysts Estimate: $1.50

-Guidance:
Full year EPS guidance: $4.15 to $4.30

Wizz Air H1 Underlying EBITDA Falls – Quick Facts

Wizz Air Holdings Plc (WIZZ.L) reported a pretax loss of 237.4 million euros for the half year ended 30 September 2020 compared to profit of 385.2 million euros, prior year. Loss per share was 1.90 euros compared to profit of 2.91 euros. Underlying EBITDA declined to 17.3 million euros from 607.0 million euros. Underlying loss per share was 1.13 euros compared to profit of 2.91 euros.

First half total revenue decreased by 71.8% to 471.2 million euros. Ticket revenues decreased by 78.9% to 201.8 million euros.

Macquarie Group HY Profit Down

Macquarie Group Limited (MQG.AX,MQBKY.PK) reported a net profit after tax attributable to ordinary shareholders of A$985 million for the half year ended 30 September 2020, down 32 percent on the half year ended 30 September 2019.

The company noted that recent months have been overshadowed by the profound human impact of the COVID-19 global health crisis and its economic consequences. The impacts are reflected in its result, notably in credit and other impairment charges in relation to the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on its clients and customers and in delays to realizing assets from our balance sheet and our funds.

Net operating income, excluding credit and other impairment charges, was A$5.97 billion, down eight per cent from last year.

Macquarie’s assets under management at 30 September 2020 were A$556.3 billion, down seven percent from A$598.9 billion at 31 March 2020, largely due to foreign exchange impacts and a reduction in contractual insurance assets in Macquarie Investment Management.

The company announced a first-half of fiscal year 2021 interim ordinary dividend of A$1.35 per share, down on last year interim ordinary dividend of A$2.50 per share.

The company said it is currently unable to provide meaningful earnings guidance for fiscal year 2021, citing uncertainty caused by the worldwide impact of COVID-19.