BOfAML | IAG has agreed to acquire Air Europa, a value carrier, for €1bn as it seeks to increase its market share in the South Atlantic market and turn Madrid into Europe’s next hub airport. The acquisition is in cash and will be funded by external debt increasing IAG’s net debt / EBITDA by 0.3x (from 1.2x at 3Q19). This raises questions on the potential cash return to shareholders.
Santander bank secured a net profit of 3.732 Bn€ in the first nine months of the year, 35% less than a year before, after making provisions of 2.448 Bn€, mainly because of the adjustment to the goodwill in the UK due to Brexit.
Bankinter | Repsol has published weak results for 3Q19. Principal figures compared with the consensus (Bloomberg): Ebitda 1.597 Bn€ (-21%); adjusted NAP 522 M€ (-11%) vs 529 M€ estimated (Bloomberg); Net Profit 333 M€ (-47%).
Alvise Lennkh (Scope Ratings) | The imprisonment of the Catalan separatist leaders has exacerbated regional tensions, with potentially profound political consequences, although the short term economic impact of the latest separatist protests will be limited.
Bankinter | Caixabank results for the first nine months of 2019 surprised positively. Results have improved at operational level and beaten expectations, although the lower part of the profit and loss account is resisting because of the cost of restructuring the commercial network.
Enrique Badía | Considered by many as something new, fakes have a long history with many examples. Normally, any lie, hoax or distortion of reality merits consideration. And it is under this last interpretation that the campaign for the 10 November elections seems pretty fake, not only because some lies are slipping in – that too – but because they are giving everybody a distorted image of reality. They are hiding, because they do not mention the important challenges and tasks that the government emerging from the elections will have to face, sooner or later … who knows what decisions it will take after winning power if it does not have to explain it.
Banc Sabadell | Ence has published bad results for 3Q19, although more or less in line with expectations at the level of Ebitda. Thus sales fell -8.4% vs 3Q18, somewhat better than expected (-11.1% BS expectation and -12.6% consensus) above all because of a greater volume of sales.
(European Views) | The elections in the German states of Saxony, Brandenburg and Thuringia were the latest success stories of Germany’s far-right party, the AfD. Moreover, the question amongst politicians remains: how to deal with a party, that seemingly overcomes a long-standing law in German politics: there is no life on the CDU’s right.
Banc Sabadell | 3Q19 results above expectations in EBITDA (+4.6% vs +3.3& BS expectation and 3.0% consensus) due to margins slightly above expectations (70.3% vs 69.6% consensus vs 70.5% in 3Q18) where the key has been the acceleration of incomes in the international area (5.6% sales) which has been able to compensate the increase (already known) in personnel costs.
David Kohl (Julius Baer) | US growth appears to be more resilient than feared. Trade-related uncertainty and weaker global industrial activity dampened business investment, but private consumption remained strong and the return of residential investment as a positive growth contributor improves the 2020 growth outlook.