Europe Movers: Airbus, Barclays, Société Générale, TotalEnergies, Volkswagen, Whitbread

Inga Muller
01 May, 2025
Frankfurt

Volkswagen AG traded down 2.4% to €95.44 after the German car manufacturer reported a sharp decline in earnings in the first quarter.

Revenue increased to €77.56 billion from €75.46 billion, earnings after tax slumped to €1.83 billion from €3.23 billion, and diluted earnings per share fell to €3.63 from €6.43 a year ago.

“We predict that trends in the markets for passenger cars in the individual regions will be mixed but predominantly positive in 2025,” the company said in a release to investors.

The company anticipates a noticeable increase overall in new registrations in the South American markets in 2025 compared with the previous year.

Strong performance is expected in markets in Central and Eastern Europe, subject to the further development of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Volkswagen sold 2.1 million vehicles in the quarter, an increase of 0.9% from a year earlier, with orders for fully electric vehicles rising particularly sharply by 64% and accounting for more than 20% of the total order book.

Unit sales growth in Europe was up 4%; in South America, sales were up 17%, offsetting the 2% decline in North America and the expected 6% decline in China.

The company said the automotive net cash flow for 2025 is expected to be between €2.0 billion and €5.0 billion, including cash outflows for investments and restructuring.

Barclays plc advanced 0.2% to 298.70 pence after the UK-based bank reported first-quarter 2025 results.

Total income jumped to £7.71 billion from £6.95 billion, profit after tax edged up 6% to £1.86 billion from £1.55 billion, and basic earnings per ordinary share rose to 13.0 pence from 10.3 pence a year ago.

Net interest income (NII) edged up to £3.52 billion from £3.07 billion a year earlier.

The bank guided fiscal 2025 net interest income to be greater than £12.5 billion, excluding investment banking and head office, of which Barclays UK NII is to be greater than £7.6 billion.

Société Générale advanced 3.7% to €45.60 after the French bank reported first-quarter 2025 results.

Revenue edged up to €7.08 billion from €6.64 billion, and net income jumped to €1.61 billion from €680 million a year ago.

Revenues of French retail, private banking, and insurance rose 14.1% from the prior year to €2.3 billion.

Net interest income recovered sharply in the quarter to around €1.06 billion, the company said in a release to investors.

TotalEnergies SE declined 3.02% to €50.77 after the French energy company reported first-quarter 2025 results.

Sales edged down to $52.25 billion from $56.28 billion, net income slumped to $3.92 billion from $5.80 billion, and diluted earnings per share fell to $1.68 from $2.40 a year ago.

Hydrocarbon production was 2,558 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day in the first quarter, an increase of 4% from a year earlier, due to start-ups and ramp-ups in Brazil, Fenix in Argentina, Tyra in Denmark, Anchor in the U.S., and Akpo West in Nigeria.

Production was also favorably impacted by the company’s portfolio effect related to the acquisitions of SapuraOMV in Malaysia and interests in the Eagle Ford shale gas plays in Texas.

On the negative side, there was a minus 1% effect due to lower availability of production facilities, mainly due to planned maintenance, and a minus 2% effect from the natural field declines.

The company proposed a first interim cash dividend of 85 cents per share for fiscal 2025, an increase of 7.6% from a year ago, payable on October 3 to shareholders on record as of October 1.

The payment date for ADS holders is October 22, with an ex-dividend date of September 30.

Airbus SE gained 2.2% to €147.14 after the aviation company reported first-quarter 2025 results.

Revenue edged up 6% to €13.54 billion from €12.83 billion, net income jumped 33% to €793 million from €595 million, and earnings per share rose 33% to €1.01 from 76 cents a year ago.

Gross commercial aircraft orders totaled 280 in the quarter, compared to 170 aircraft a year earlier, with an order backlog amounting to 8,726 commercial aircraft at the end of March.

The company guided fiscal 2025 commercial aircraft deliveries of around 820, adjusted EBIT of around €7.0 billion, and free cash flow before customer financing of around €4.5 billion.

Whitbread plc advanced 2.9% to 2.668 pence after the UK-based hospitality company reported results for the fiscal year 2025 ending in February.

Revenue edged down to £2.92 billion from £2.96 billion, profit declined to £253.7 million from £312.1 million, and diluted earnings per share fell to 140.6 pence from 159.9 pence a year ago.

The company confirmed its expansion activities, as it opened 1,075 new rooms in fiscal 2025, and it aims to open 1,000 to 1,200 rooms in fiscal 2026, accelerating thereafter to reach 98,000 open rooms in the UK and Ireland by fiscal 2030.

“We are on track to deliver more than £2 billion for share buybacks and dividends,” the company said in a release to investors.

The company’s board has proposed a final dividend of 60.6 pence per share, compared to 62.9 pence a year ago, and it plans to launch a £250 million share buyback to be completed over the next twelve months.

The total cash returned to shareholders via dividends and share buybacks in fiscal 2025 was £442 million, compared to £756 million in the previous year.