Argos, Flybe and Essentra

“The FTSE 100 started on the back foot taking direction from weaker Asian markets, which reacted to a raft of disappointing economic data, while Wall Street and oil prices continued to march higher,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.

“Any concerns that Argos might be distracted by its impending takeover by Sainsbury’s have been dispelled with latest sales figures showing the best performance for two years.

“This was achieved against a challenging backdrop of constrained seasonal product sales due to poor weather and a deflationary pricing environment. Home Retail – Argos’s current owner – expects the proposed takeover by Sainsbury’s to complete in the third quarter.

“Regional airline Flybe swung into profit delivering top-line growth in a difficult revenue environment. Flybe has driven down costs and increased passenger numbers in challenging conditions which have comprised the impact of terrorist attacks, industrial action by air traffic controllers in France and increased competition in the European short-haul sector.

“Speciality plastic and packaging components supplier Essentra’s shares plunged in early trading after it warned that adjusted operating profits would be lower than forecasts and down on a year ago. Challenging market conditions and delays in some large projects are the principal reasons for the lower trading levels while an extensive site integration programme has hit revenues and operating profits. Its shares were down by more than 27% in early trading.”

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