European Markets Advance; Adidas, UBS Net Surge; Metro Net Plunges

Nigel Thomas
05 May, 2015
New York City

adidas profit climbed 8%. Lufthansa net swung to profit to

[R]4:00 PM Frankfurt – adidas profit climbed 8%. Lufthansa net swung to profit to €425 million. Metro profit tumbled 95%. Ryanair traffic in April climbed 16% to 9 million customers. Telefonica Deutschland net loss widened. UBS profit doubled.[/R]

Market indexes across the euro zone advanced and wholesale price index gained.

Industrial producer price index rose 0.2% in March in the euro area and in the wider region of EU28 nations.

In February, prices increased 0.6% in the euro area and in EU28, the Statistical Office of the European Communities said.

In London trading, FTSE 100 index gained 0.5% or 41.18 to 7,027.13 and in Frankfurt the DAX index slipped 0.8% or 96.08 to 11,523.77.

In Paris, CAC 40 index increased 0.6% or 28.86 to 5,053.11.

adidas AG gained 0.9% to €76.22 after the athletic and sports lifestyle products maker reported revenues in the first-quarter ending in March soared 17.3% to €4.08 billion from €3.48 billion in a year ago period.

Net profit in the quarter climbed 8.3% from a year ago to €221 million compared to €204 million and diluted earnings per share increased to €1.08 billion from €0.96.

Revenues from footwear segment soared 27% to €2.09 billion and revenues from apparel business climbed 11% to €1.60 billion.

Adidas said revenues from Taylor Made golf segment declined 9% due to fall in metal-woods and irons categories.

Reebok currency-neutral sales jumped 9% in the training and studio categories and mid-single-digit growth in Classics business.

The company forecasted net profit for the second-half to climb between 7% and 10% from €642 million in fiscal 2014 and gross margin is estimated between 47.5% and 48.5%.

Deutsche Lufthansa AG dropped 2% to €12.41 after the Germany-based airline company said revenues in the first-quarter ending in March climbed 7.9% to €6.97 billion form €6.46 billion in a year ago period.

Net in the quarter swung to profit from a year ago to €425 million compared to a loss of €252 million earnings per share swung to €0.92 from a loss per share of €55.

Lufthansa said traffic revenues in the quarter jumped 5% to €5.42 billion but the number of passengers edged down 0.8% to 21.56 million as overall load factor in the period slipped 0.5 points to 72.4% and the strikes led to a burden of about €42 million.

The company forecasted revenues for the fiscal 2015 to be slightly less than the reported €30.01 billion in fiscal 2014 and operating profit of above €1.5 billion.

Metro AG fell 0.7% to €32.53 after the Germany-based department store operator reported sales in the first-half ending in March dropped 1.1% to €32.68 billion form €33.05 billion in a year ago period.

Profit in the quarter tumbled 94.5% from a year ago to €10 million compared to €182 million and earnings per share declined to €0.03 from €0.56.

Metro forecasted operating profit for the year more than €1.73 billion reported in a year ago period.

Ryanair Holdings Plc gained 1.8% to €11.14 after the Ireland-based low-cost airline company said that traffic in April climbed 16% to 9 million customers from 7.8 million customers and load factor jumped to 91% from 84% in the same month a year ago.

Telefonica Deutschland Holding AG slid 0.1% to €5.60 after the Germany-based communication services provider stated revenues in the first-quarter ending in March surged 69.6% to €1.90 billion form €1.12 billion in a year ago period.

Net loss in the quarter widened from a year ago to €176 million compared to €40 million and loss per share increased to €0.06 from €0.04.

UBS Group AG climbed 5.7% to 20.11 Swiss francs after the Switzerland-based financial services provider reported interest income in the first-quarter ending in March jumped 4% to 3.17 billion francs from 3.19 billion francs in a year ago period.

Net profit in the quarter nearly double from a year ago to 1.98 billion francs compared to 1.05 billion francs and diluted earnings per share surged to 0.53 francs form 0.27 francs.

The bank said total operating income in the quarter soared 22% to 8.84 billion francs from 7.26 billion francs in the same period a year ago as wealth management businesses reported the highest profits since 2008.