IAG, Royal Bank of Scotland and William Hill

“The blue-chip index was in negative territory in early trading following falls in Asia and a mixed performance on Wall Street,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.

“British Airways’ parent International Consolidated Airlines topped the blue-chip board in early trading after profits rose despite a challenging environment. The fall in the pound following the EU referendum hit the group’s full year profits by €460m. But the group carried more than 100 million passengers last year, which was double the number BA and Iberia carried in 2010, the year before IAG was created. IAG is committed to providing a sustainable dividend for shareholders and will increase cash returns through a €500m share buyback this year. IAG’s shares were up by more than 2%.

“Royal Bank of Scotland’s full-year losses soared to £6.96bn from £1.98bn last time, with a substantial portion linked to litigation, conduct and restructuring costs. The bank has admitted that the results are disappointing but they are not surprising given the scale of the legacy issues if worked through in 2016.RBS plans to cut costs by £2bn over the next four years and this will mean job losses and branch closures. The aim is to return to profit in 2018 and to start repaying UK taxpayers.

“Bookmaker William Hill was up in early trading after it turned in a broadly steady pre-tax profit and dividend despite a challenging year. The performance was below directors' expectations at the start of the year but a number of strategic and leadership changes ultimately delivered a full-year profit within the range of its revised forecasts. These changes continue to bear fruit with strong indications that its online business is returning to sustained growth.”

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