easyJet PLC (LSE:EZJ) shares have fallen 3.2% to 452.2p after a leaked letter from pilots accused the budget airline of cancelling viable flights and suffering “operational meltdowns”.
Disruption to the airline’s flights this summer are going to get worse yet to peak, according to an internal letter from the airline’s French pilots obtained by the i paper.
The budget airline said it was operating up to 1,700 flights a day across its network, though in recent weeks it has cancelled up to 80 flights a day from UK airports.
Other airlines such as IAG's British Airways and fellow budget carrier Wizz Air have not been without cancellations, but easyJet "appears to have been particularly badly hit", the report said.
12.20pm: ProCook nightmare
ProCook Group PLC (LSE:PROC), the specialist kitchenware company, got a real panning on Friday morning after a profits warning.
Considering the more recent trading conditions and the ongoing pressures on discretionary consumer spend, the company, which sells pots & pans etc. directly to consumers, now assumes the kitchenware market will remain highly challenging for the remainder of the current financial year.
With this in mind, the company now anticipates that revenue this financial year will be roughly flat year-on-year. In fiscal 2022 the company’s revenue was £69.2mln; the consensus forecast for this year had been £81.9mln.
Adjusted profit before tax is expected to fall somewhere between £4mln and £6mln, versus market expectations of £11.0mln.
The shares came off the boil (sorry) at 46.6p, down by two-fifths on the day.
11.33am: The Sami old story for Beowulf Mining
Shares in Beowulf Mining PLC (AIM:BEM) have dropped 14% to 4.75p after an indigenous Swedish village near to its Kallak project said it was going to take legal action against the government following the decision to award an exploitation concession there.
Lawyers for the indigenous Sami village of Jåhkågasska tjiellde said they will be most affected by the establishment of a mine in Gállo/Kallak, which would be right in the middle of its winter grazing area.
A mine in the planned location would cut the Jåhkågasska tjiellde village into two parts, having "devastating consequences for reindeer husbandry" and pose a threat to the entire Sami culture in the area, the lawyers said in a press release.
A press conference will be called on 15 June by the Sami village in Jokkmokk, where they are expected to describe in more detail how they will proceed.
Kurt Budge, chief executive of Beowulf, said the company "acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands at Kallak, past elders, present and emerging leaders, and we are grateful for the contribution that Sami culture makes to our lives, and wider society" and he had written to the chairman of Jåhkågasska tjiellde about building "a framework for ongoing good-faith dialogue" to develop an agreement to establish "mutually agreed terms by which engagement and consultation will take place between us in relation to the Kallak project".
He said: "The evidence in Sweden is that there are many industries that coexist with reindeer herding, mining being just one of them, that Sami culture and livelihoods are protected and wider society benefits. This will be the case at Kallak and good-faith dialogue is the way to proceed."
9.30am: Renalytix diabetic kidney data impresses
Renalytix PLC (AIM:RENX) shares looked healthier in early trading on Friday, up 3.8% to 190p after flagging a 1,112-patient study that demonstrated the benefits of its KidneyIntelX disease test.
Data was presented at American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions showing increased adherence to care guidelines for physicians using KidneyIntelX risk assessment improved outcomes, alleviate patient suffering and reduced the financial burden associated with rapidly progressing chronic kidney disease, the company said.
Before using KidneyIntelX, there was no way to effectively predict which patients with early stage diabetic kidney disease (DKD) were at higher risk for progressive loss of kidney function and kidney failure, said Joji Tokita, MD, clinical director at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, noting that nearly 95% of patients with chronic kidney disease are in stages 1 through 3, but its progression is often asymptomatic until it progresses to end stages and the damage is often irreversible.
"Understanding the clinical utility of diagnostic tools like KidneyIntelX in a real-world setting is critical to increasing access and availability of our testing in the United States," said Renalytix president Tom McLain.
Elsewhere, AEX Gold Inc (AIM:AEXG, TSX-V:AEX) rose even higher, up 4.6% to 46p, as it now signed a non-binding heads of terms to establish a special purpose vehicle and create a joint venture for the exploration and development of its Strategic Mineral assets for a combined contribution of £36.7mln.
Subject to negotiation of the final terms of the JV, partner ACAM will invest £18mln in exchange for a 49% shareholding in the SPV, with AEX holding 51%.
AEX is expected to contribute its non-gold licences as well as a contribution in kind, valued at £18.7mln, in the form of site support, logistics and overhead costs associated with utilizing its existing infrastructure in Southern Greenland to support the JV's activities.