UK's Royal Mail tops FTSE midcap losses as pay dispute tensions linger
27/03/2023 12:30
** Shares of Royal Mail's parent company International
Distributions Services IDSI.L fall as much as 4.9% to 218.9p -
stock top pct loser on FTSE midcap .FTMC index
** Communication Workers Union (CWU), Royal Mail's largest
labour union, on Friday said it would serve notice this week for
further strike action, prolonging the labour dispute at the
postal and parcel firm
** CWU, which represents more than 110,000 postal workers at
the centuries-old co, has been involved in a pay dispute for
months now amid widespread worker unrest in Britain over wage
hikes to cope with surging inflation
** Analysts at JP Morgan in a note say they expect annual
losses to widen to 224 mln pounds ($274.8 mln) from their
current estimate of 124 mln pounds
** JPM analysts note prolonged tensions would be a negative
for fiscal 2024 estimates, through a combination of lower cost
savings, direct strike impact and lower parcel volume
** JPM cuts PT on IDSI to 250p from 285p; rating "neutral"
** Stock set to post worst day since Jan. 10, if trend holds
** Including session's loss, stock up ~3% YTD
($1 = 0.8151 pounds)
(Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru)
((abyjose.koilparambil@thomsonreuters.com))