Stagecoach and First Group shares rise as bus services ramp up

Planes, trains and automobiles were the order of the day on the stock market as investors climbed aboard companies ready to carry more passengers as lockdown eases.

Bus operators FirstGroup and Stagecoach both updated the market, welcoming a £283 million cash injection for buses, trams and light rail from Government announced last week, which will help them ramp up services.

London bus operator Stagecoach said it now has access to £800 million in funding, and added that regional bus mileage — currently at 40% of pre-Covid levels — would soon be ramped up. The company also believes that, while increased working from home could initially hit passenger numbers, a renewed societal focus on health could spark an environmental push and encourage use of public transport over cars. The shares added 6.7% to 60.6p.

Rival First also moved through the gears, up 8.8% at 72.7p as it said it had generated more cash than expected in the first month of its new financial year. It also plans to ramp up the number of bus services running.

Meanwhile on the runways, easyJet shares were taking off, hitting the summit of the FTSE 100 as it revealed plans to cut 30% of its workforce, equating to 4,500 jobs. The airline — at war with its founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou — will cut its fleet by 51 planes to 302 aircraft by the end of next year. Investors took heart from the decisive action, which follows redundancy plans at British Airways and Ryanair, and the airline’s comments that winter bookings are “well ahead” of last year as holidaymakers push their breaks back. The shares gained 6.8% to 756.4p.

The FTSE 100 rose 47.51 points to 6191.76 despite frets over new security laws in Hong Kong ramping up tensions between the US and China.

City stalwart Charles Stanley, founded in 1792, was also on the front foot on signs that a lengthy restructuring process was paying off. Profits bounced 45% to £19 million last financial year, as revenues rose after a repricing initiative. The shares stepped up 2% to 280p but the wealth manager did warn that recent trading is “expected to be significantly impacted by the crisis, with lower stock market valuations and reduced interest rates”.

Daily Mail owner DMGT, a minority shareholder in the Evening Standard, posted a 44% fall in first-half pre-tax profits to £56 million as revenues dropped 5% to £690 million. DMGT said its trading had been strong in the first five months of the financial year, but that Covid-19 started to weigh in March. Shares were off 5.8% at 706.4p.

Small-cap spotlight

Britain's hobbyists and collectors may be in their locked-down element, but that hasn’t been enough to help Scholium Group. The company specialises in the trade of rare books, maps, prints and collectibles and today said it has been hurt by the closure of its shops and cancellation of UK and overseas fairs. The crisis will push it to a first-half loss. However, investors appeared to take heart from the fact the firm made money last year and that shops will reopen next month. The shares lifted 14% or 4p to 32p.