Proactive Investors - TUI (LON:TUIT) looks set to bow out of London with a bang rather than a whimper.
On the day shareholders are being asked to vote on a de-listing from the LSE, the group weighed in with better-than-expected quarterly numbers, sending the shares 4% higher at 600.5p.
The travel giant weighed in with an underlying operating profit of €6 million, beating analysts' estimates, while sales rose 15% to €4.3 billion. Customer numbers were up 6% to 3.5 million. Profitability for tour operators such as TUI is back-end loaded.
While the numbers underlined a return to form for the Anglo-German group, the real issue of the day is a vote later to exit the London Stock Exchange in favour of a single quote in Frankfurt.
TUI is one of a number of companies mulling similar moves amid the added layer of bureaucracy created by Brexit.
Briefing investors on its plans, the travel group said that in recent years, most of the stock trading liquidity had shifted to Germany.
It added: “The termination of the listing in London would offer understandable advantages for investors and the company: Simplification of structures, improvement in liquidity and indexation, and support for EU airline ownership.”