Factors to watch in UK stocks on May 18

May 18 (Reuters) – Britain’s FTSE 100 index is seen opening higher on Thursday, with futures up 0.5%.

* BURBERRY: British luxury fashion brand Burberry reported stronger-than-expected fourth quarter sales boosted by a rebound in its largest market China following three years of COVID-19 restrictions.

* ROYAL MAIL: Britain’s Royal Mail posted an annual adjusted operating
loss of 419 million pounds (USD 528.82 million), its parent International Distributions Services said.

* EASYJET: British airline easyJet said it was confident ahead of the summer season, when it makes all its profit, helped by strong booking levels, higher ticket prices and the growth of its holidays business.

* PREMIER FOODS: Premier Foods posted a stronger annual profit and raised its dividend payout.

* NATIONAL GRID: Energy supplier National Grid posted a 15% jump in annual operating profit.

* DE LA RUE: British banknote printer De La Rue Plc said that it appointed Clive Whiley as non-executive chairman of the board, effective immediately.

* INFORMA: British events organiser Informa said it will acquire business-to-business events, data, and media group Winsight for USD 380 million.

* BT GROUP: BT Group, Britain’s biggest broadband and mobile provider, met market expectations with a 5% rise in full-year adjusted core earnings of 7.9 billion pounds.

* BT GROUP: BT Group said it would reduce its workforce by up to 55,000 jobs by the end of the decade.

* ASTON MARTIN: Aston Martin said that Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd had committed to invest about 234 million pounds in the British luxury carmaker, making the Chinese automotive group its third-largest shareholder.

(Reporting by Muhammed Husain in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann Thoppil)