MARKET REPORT: Jet2 takes off as airline driven by record sales

Given the current cold snap in the UK, investors’ thoughts turned to hopes of traveling to warmer climates.

Holiday firm Jet 2 soared as it revealed record first-half results and passenger figures and said its full-year profits should beat expectations.

Passenger numbers rose 11 percent to 13.34 million, up from 11.97 million a year earlier, as package tours and flight-only sales grew, helped by increased capacity after ten planes Airbus A321neo entered service.

Revenue rose 15 per cent to £5.09bn for the six months to September 30, contributing to a 16 per cent rise in adjusted profit to £772.4m .

Full-year adjusted profit is likely to beat its average market forecast of £541m. The shares rose 5.8 per cent, or 82 pence, to 1,500 pence.

The FTSE 100 closed up 0.8 per cent, or 64.20 points, at 8,149.27, while the FTSE 250 added 0.5 per cent, or 105.16 points, to 20,349.92.

Despite the rising gold price, miner Endeavor Mining fell 0.7 per cent, or 11 pence, to 1,560 pence and Hochschild lost 0.4 per cent, or 1 pence, to 226 pence.

Elsewhere in blue-chip companies, Halma gained 5.7 per cent or 143 pence to 2,645 pence, as the safety equipment and hazard detection products group raised its interim dividend by 7 per cent after a record first half which saw sales surpass the £1 billion mark.

Among mid-caps, Ithaca Energy jumped 9.2 per cent, or 9.2p, to 109p after announcing a $200m (£158.8m) special dividend as the North Sea oil and gas praised its deal with Eni UK.

The big payout to shareholders came as Ithaca’s net income in the nine months to September 30 fell 44 percent, mirroring its performance before the Italian merger.

Elsewhere, cement maker Breedon Group gained 2.8 per cent, or 12.5 pence, to 452 pence as it reported resilient trading for the 10 months to October 31, boosted by strong prices despite a challenging construction market in the UK.

And PZ Cussons rose 2.1 per cent, or 1.6 pence, to 78.5 pence after the maker of Imperial Leather soaps and Carex hand gels said it expected to report revenue growth of 5 per cent. in the first semester.

But CMC Markets fell 14.8 per cent, or 50 pence, to 288.5 pence, as the trading and investment platform left its full-year guidance unchanged despite reporting strong first-half results.

Paypoint fell 6 per cent, or 50p, to 785p as it highlighted challenges in the wider UK economy related to consumer confidence and spending.

And Auction Technology Group lost 3.7 per cent, or 16.5p, to 428.5p as analysts at Jefferies began covering the company with an underperform rating and a price target of just 380p.

Among small caps, Nostra Terra was the biggest loser, falling 36.7 per cent, or 0.01p, to 0.02p, as the explorer raised £500,000 through a subscription and placement, issuing 2.17 billion shares at 0.023p each to bolster its coffers as it moved forward. is preparing to further increase production in Texas.

However, Caspian Sunrise jumped 25 per cent, or 0.7p, to 3.5p as it revealed a conditional agreement with Absolute Resources to sell Kazakhstan assets for £69m.