London open: Air travel woe dominates

19th Apr 2010 08:46

Travel problems continue to dominate the market with the UK flight ban extended to tomorrow at the earliest.More than 100,000 customers of TUI Travel due to return home yesterday were left stranded by the ongoing flight ban imposed after the eruption of the volcano in Iceland last week. Currently, TUI estimates the cumulative cost to the group, up to and including yesterday is circa £20m. Estimated daily costs thereafter will run at approximately £5m - £6m, it added. Thomas Cook is also lower as are British Airways, Easyjet and Ryanair.Banks are also weak after the Goldman Sachs alleged fraud shock last week. Barclays and HSBC are down but Royal Bank of Scotland is bucking the trend.Sage Group has confirmed that its chief executive, Paul Walker, is to stand down "in due course" after 16 years at the helm of the accountancy software company.Cairn Energy subsidiary MedOil has plugged and abandoned a well offshore Tunisia in the Louza block after finding only minor evidence of light oil.Set-top box maker Pace expects another good year with margins higher and sales growth in single mid-digits though the the World Cup will bring forward some revenues into the first half. Construction and property consultancy firm Cyril Sweett said 2010 revenue is expected to be £67m as it cuts its cost base. "Revenue for the period is expected to be £67.0m, delivering pre-exceptional PBT of approximately £3m," the group said in a company statement. The performance of Alliance Trust last year was in the lowest quartile of its peer group after the investment trust made a slow start to 2009. Net asset value in the year to 31 January 2010 improved by 16.8% to 377.7p, while the total return advanced 22.2%.