Companies roundup: EasyJet, Hipgnosis and Ferrexpo

An increase in passenger numbers and ticket prices helped budget airline easyJet (EZJ) to narrow losses over the winter period.

The company expects to deliver a loss before tax of around £350mn over the six months ending in March, which is lower than consensus forecasts and last year’s figure of £415mn. 

This is despite a £40mn hit being taken as a result of the conflict in Gaza, with flights to Israel and Jordan suspended and demand for breaks in Egypt remaining soft.

Passenger numbers were up 8 per cent, and revenue per seat up 5 per cent, with ex-fuel costs remaining flat. Its holidays unit also trebled pre-tax profit to £31mn. Bookings for summer “continue to build well”, with both volumes and pricing currently running ahead of last year, the company said. EasyJet’s share price rose by 3 per cent. MF

Read more: The travel stocks making the most of the recovery

Rival lands Hipgnosis Songs with £1.4bn cash offer

Shares in troubled music royalties fund Hipgnosis Songs (SONG) have soared after it received a cash offer from rival Concord Chorus. The Apollo-backed company has put forward a £1.4bn buyout, equivalent to 93.2p per share. The offer, which is recommended by the board and subject to shareholder approval, would represent a 32.2 per cent premium to the closing price of 71p on 17 April, and a 4 per cent premium on the recently downgraded net asset value of the fund. 

Its future has been up in the air since a failed continuation vote last year. Investors representing 24 per cent of Hipgnosis’ share count have backed the plan already, with a letter of intent from Investec covering another 5 per cent. “The acquisition represents an attractive opportunity for our shareholders to immediately realise their holding at a premium, mitigating the risks we see ahead to achieving a material improvement in the share price,” said Hipgnosis chair Robert Naylor. DB

Ferrexpo shows greater operational confidence coming into third year of war

Ukrainian iron ore miner Ferrexpo (FXPO) is back to its pre-invasion status quo in one way – that is through fights with the government and legal troubles. The company cancelled an interim dividend announced in January after a freezing order on the holdings of 49.5 per cent shareholder Kostyantin Zhevago. The payout itself was a sign of greater operational confidence – the miner managed to sell 4.2mn tonnes of iron ore pellets in 2023, bringing in underlying Ebitda of $130mn (£104mn). This was a significant reduction on 2022’s $765mn, but the balance sheet is protected by the $108mn net cash position. The pre-tax profit was knocked by a $124mn provision covering more Zhevago legal troubles. 

This year, the company said it would restart the third pelletiser line (which converts iron ore into pellet form) depending on Black Sea port availability, opening the door for production increases. The shares have fallen further this year because of the legal troubles, trading around 46p this month. AH

Dive deeper into Ferrexpo: Four high-yield, low-risk stocks

Home Reit sues and is sued

Suspended Home Reit (HOME) only has value to lawyers and estate agents now, as those in charge say they will fight a legal action filed on behalf of investors alleging the company “provided information to investors which was false, untrue and/or misleading”. 

At the same time, Home Reit says it is suing former investment adviser Alvarium for “wrongdoing”. 

Law firm Harcus Parker, running the investor action, has said previously that Home Reit’s claims around the valuation of its properties, stability of the tenant organisations and the actual use of its properties were in many cases untrue. AH