Emirates Supports A380 Jumbo Program; Informa, UBM in $5 B Merger Talks

Sarla Buch
18 Jan, 2018
New York City

Airbus secured order for 36 additional A380 jumbo jets from Emirates. AB Foods reported rising holiday sales at its low-cost fashion retail chain Primark. Countrywide declined after profit warning. Informa and UBM, the two largest event organizers are in merger talk.

[R]4:00 PM Frankfurt – Airbus secured order for 36 additional A380 jumbo jets from Emirates. AB Foods reported rising holiday sales at its low-cost fashion retail chain Primark. Countrywide declined after profit warning. Informa and UBM, the two largest event organizers are in merger talk.[/R]

In London trading, FTSE 100 index dropped 36.71 or 0.5% to 7,719.62 and in Frankfurt the DAX index slumped 47.68 or 0.4% to 13,197.13.

In Paris, CAC 40 index decreased 10.76 or 0.2% to 5,503.11.

Airbus SE jumped 2.7% to €92.16 after Emirates airlines chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum today signed an agreement with the Netherland-based aerospace and defense products maker to supply additional 36 double-decker A380 jumbo jets at list price of £11.5 billion or $16 billion.

Emirates confirmed the order for 20 A380 the world''s largest passenger airliner with an option to buy additional 16 aircrafts and deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2020.

""This new order underscores Airbus'' commitment to produce the A380 at least for another ten years,"" said Airbus chief salesman John Leahy.

""Order will provide stability to the A380 production line,"" said chairman and chief executive officer of Emirates Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum.

Associated British Foods Plc dropped 2.7% to 2,780 pence after the U.K.-based food and ingredients maker said group revenue in the sixteen-week period ending in January 6 advanced 4% and sales in retail business at Primark jumped from a year ago to 9%.

However, AB Foods said sales at its sugar division dropped 12% and the sugar wholesale division is likely to suffer more revenue compression on the lower commodity prices in the European Union.

Countrywide Plc tumbled 16.4% to 113 pence after the U.K.-based residential real estate agency and property services provider forecasted profit in the year ending in December to drop 8.8% to £672 million from £737 million in a year ago period.

The estate agent said profit in the U.K. business to decline 17% to about £205 million.

Geberit AG soared 6.3% to 452 Swiss francs after Switzerland-based sanitary products provider said net sales in the year ending in December increased 3.5% from a year ago to 2.9 billion francs.

The sanitary products provider said sales in the fourth-quarter soared 10.9% to 706 million francs.

Informa Plc rose 0.2% to 706.40 pence after the U.K.-based media services provider intends to acquire the event organizer UBM Plc for £4 billion or $5.2 billion.