Royal Mail H1 Profit Surges; Backs FY Forecast – Quick Facts

Royal Mail plc (RMG.L), a provider of postal and delivery services, reported Thursday that its first-half profit before tax climbed to 173 million pounds from last year’s 33 million pounds.

Profit after tax was 153 million pounds, up from 5 million pounds last year. Basic earnings per share from continuing operations surged to 15.3 pence from 0.5 pence a year ago.

Adjusted profit before tax was 146 million pounds, compared to 183 million pounds last year. Adjusted basic earnings per share were 11.1 pence, compared to 13.6 pence a year ago.

Operating profit was 61 million pounds, compared to last year’s loss of 4 million pounds. Adjusted operating profit fell 13.2 percent to 165 million pounds.

Group revenue was up 5.1 percent to 5.17 billion pounds from 4.91 billion pounds a year ago, including its best UK revenue performance in 5 years.

UK parcel revenue growth more than offset letter revenue declines.

Further, the Board has declared an interim dividend of 7.5 pence per share.

Looking ahead for fiscal 2020, the company continues to expect to deliver adjusted Group operating profit of between 300 million pounds to 340 million pounds, in line with guidance.

For 2020, the company now expects addressed letter volume decline, excluding elections, to be in the 7-9 percent range.

In 2020-21, the company expects letter volume decline, excluding elections, may be in the 6-8 percent range.

Further, the company maintained its ambitions associated with Journey 2024 plan.

How leaving snow on your car roof can land you THREE penalty points on your driving licence and a £60 fine – The Sun

IT'S a little known law but drivers can actually get fined for having snow on their cars – not just from the windscreen.

Even if the snow doesn't affect your vision, having snow on the roof of your car, or anywhere else for that matter, could land you with three points and a £60 fine.

Can you get a fine for driving with snow on your car?

If you are caught by police driving with snow still on your car (even on the roof), or an officer sees it fall on to the road from your vehicle, you can be given a £60 fine and have three penalty points added to your licence.

The fine falls in line with section 229 of the Highway code which outlines correct guidelines for driving in adverse weather conditions.

The rule states that drivers must "remove all snow that might fall off into the path of other road users".

This could pose a potential hazard for other drivers.

What do the experts say about driving with snow on your car?

A representative from the AA said that drivers could suffer harsher penalties should snowfall from your car on to another vehicle.

You could then be charged with "driving without reasonable consideration for other road users”.

This carries a £100 and as many as nine penalty points if you were to cause an accident.

Rupee slips 8 paise to 71.89 against USD in early trade

Traders were also awaiting fresh cues on the potential U.S.-China trade deal

The Indian rupee opened on a cautious note and fell 8 paise to 71.89 against the U.S. dollar in early trade on Thursday tracking muted opening in domestic equities.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 71.83 then fell to 71.89 against the dollar, showing a decline of 8 paise over its previous closing.

The Indian rupee on Wednesday had closed at 71.81 against the dollar.

Traders were also awaiting fresh cues on the potential U.S.-China trade deal.

Meanwhile, brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.29% to USD 62.22 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net buyers in the capital markets, as they purchased shares worth ₹566.52 crore on Wednesday, as per provisional data.

Domestic bourses opened on a cautious note on Thursday with benchmark indices Sensex trading 4.04 points down at 40,647.60 and Nifty lower by 7.30 points at 11,991.80.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.05% to 97.88.

The 10-year government bond yield was at 6.46% in morning trade.

UK's Labour may propose windfall tax on oil companies: BBC

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s opposition Labour Party is expected to propose a windfall tax on oil companies if it wins the Dec. 12 election, the BBC reported on Thursday.

36 Hours in Belgrade

While tourists are flooding European cities like Barcelona, Venice and Dubrovnik, the Serbian capital is quietly molding itself into a very fun and accommodating Balkan metropolis. Chefs are getting creative with Serbian cuisine and the cocktail bar scene has taken off, much to the delight of sophisticated locals. The National Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art have just reopened after unexpectedly long renovations. Now the residents of the former capital of Yugoslavia are just waiting for the world to make a beeline to this affordable, friendly city with so much to offer.

Euromoney FY Pre-tax Profit Drops – Quick Facts

Euromoney Institutional Investor Plc. (ERM.L) reported that its profit before tax for the year ended 30 September 2019 decreased to 29.5 million pounds from the prior year’s 106.8 million pounds, mainly due to the gain on the disposal of Dealogic in the prior year.

Profit attributable to equity holders of the parent for the year dropped to 60.93 million pounds or 56.6 pence per share from 195.00 million pounds or 181.3 pence per share in the previous year.

Adjusted total revenue for the year increased by 3% to 401.7 million pounds from last year, supported by the contribution from the acquisition of BoardEx and The Deal.

Statutory revenue from continuing operations, which excludes the Asset Management segment, increased by 5% to 256.1 million pounds. Underlying revenue was flat, with growth of 4% from the Pricing, Data & Market Intelligence segment offset by continued challenges in the Asset Management segment.

The company said its board recommended a final dividend of 22.3 pence per share, which is subject to Shareholder approval at our AGM on 28 January 2020 and, if approved, will be paid on 13 February 2020 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 29 November 2019.

The company expects weakness in its Asset Management segment into 2020 but continued good growth in the Pricing segment. It continues to make progress towards a 3.0 business model guided by its clear strategy, underpinned by a strong balance sheet and excellent cash flow conversion.