Europe Movers: Adidas, Alstom, Barry Callebaut, EasyJet, Porsche, Renault, Schaeffler

Inga Muller
22 Jan, 2025
Frankfurt

European markets extended weekly gains ahead of the widely expected rate cut decisions next week. 

The euro and the bond yields in the eurozone edged lower ahead of the expected rate cuts next week. 

The DAX index moved higher by 1.02% to 21,256.10; the CAC-40 index jumped 0.67% to 7,823.06; and the FTSE 100 index rose by 0.38% to 8,580.43.  

The yield on 10-year German bonds inched lower to 2.48%, French bonds eased to 3.25%, the UK gilts declined to 4.60%, and Italian bonds edged lower to 3.57%.

Adidas Group gained 6.5% to €259.20 after the German sportswear company reported a surge in fourth-quarter sales and swung to a profit from a loss a year ago.

The German sportswear company reported a 24% increase in fourth-quarter revenue to €5.97 billion.

The company's operating income swung to a profit of €57 million from a loss of €377 million last year.

Adidas said it will post fiscal 2024 audited statements and 2025 guidance on March 5.

In a preliminary report on its website, the company said full year 2024 revenue increased 11% to €23.68 billion, while proft increased by more than €1 billion to €1.34 billion. 

Schaeffler AG plunged 12.4% to €3.97 after the German car-parts supplier said fiscal year 2024 results fell short of company's estimates.

The German automobile parts maker said fiscal year 2024 sales increased to €18.2 billion from €16.3 billion in 2023, but the result is short of the company’s previous guidance and consensus expectations.

Barry Callebaut AG slumped 6% to CHF1.08 as the Swiss-Belgian chocolate maker and cocoa processor expects annual sales volume to fall by a low single-digit percentage, after previously forecasting flat cocoa sales volume for the year.

In the three months ended November 30, the company’s revenue reached CHF3.45 billion or $3.81 billion, an increase of 63.1% in local currencies from the same period in 2023.

EasyJet Plc dropped 4.4% to £488.89 pence after the UK-based discount airline posted a slight decline in losses in the fiscal first quarter despite an increase of 7% in passenger count.  

Despite passenger growth of 7%, the company lost £61 million before tax, which is an improvement of £65 million from a year ago.

The current winter operational difficulties are expected to be adjusted for the timing of Easter, helped also by favorable fuel prices.

Passenger revenue was up by 11% to £1,255 million, while holiday revenue surged by 36% to £247 million.

The company registered 21.2 million passengers in the quarter, up from 19.8 million a year earlier.

Six new A320neo family aircraft were delivered and taken into ownership, a seventh aircraft was delivered in January and another two are expected to be operational by peak summer.

Alstom fell 0.5% to €20.71 despite the French railroad engineering company achieved 8% increase in new orders totaling €4.3 billion in the latest quarter.  

The French railroad engineering company achieved strong third-quarter growth with €4.3 billion in new orders and €4.7 billion in sales, marking a 7.9% increase compared to the previous year.

Rolling stock production output totaled 1,098 cars in the third quarter and 3,101 cars for the nine months from April to December.

Despite supply chain challenges, the company is "confident about its fiscal year" due to a strong backlog of €94.7 billion and ongoing operational efficiencies.

Porsche Automobil Holding SE added 0.3% to €37.11 after the German sports car maker reiterated its profit margin range between 14% and 15% while working to reduce its footprint in China.

The company expects sales volume to decline this year because of the withdrawal of the combustion-engine Macan and 718 from the European Union from the end of June, as well as possible further supply chain issues for the 911 model.

Porsche will post financial results on March 12.

Renault SA traded unchanged at €48.17 after the French car maker named Duncan Minto as its new chief financial officer, elevating the executive who has overseen finances at its Alpine sports-car brand since October 2023.

Alpine’s growth has helped the French vehicle maker stand out from its competitors, many of which issued profit warnings last year. 

Renault is facing challenges in relation to weaker demand for electric vehicles, supply chain disruptions and slump in China sales that have hit the industry.

Intermediate Capital Group Plc gained 6% to 224.6 pence after the London-based private equity investment firm said third-quarter assets under management increased 27.5% to $106.6 billion at constant currency from a year ago.

The company raised $7.2 billion in the third quarter and $22 billion over the past year, doubling from a year ago.