Shares in John Menzies plc, the holding company of aviation services business Menzies Aviation, fell by 21.4 per cent to 360 pence this morning.
The company had warned of a challenging time for the company and the industry in general, saying earnings would not rise in 2019, with cargo volumes and passenger numbers stagnating.
“The overall aviation market is having a difficult year. This inevitably is having an impact on our full year outturn,” said Chief Executive Officer Giles Wilson, who previously served as finance officer before being promoted earlier this year.
Menzies is not alone in experiencing a sub-par performance so far this year, with Lufthansa announcing a profit downgrade, Ryanair warning of a “painful” couple of years and Air France-KLM also reporting a quarterly loss.
“Lufthansa’s recent profit downgrade cited an almost halving of its cargo margins and IATA reduced its full-year growth outlook for air freight to 0% in June. Clearly Menzies is not immune to these market issues,” Berenberg analysts said.
Menzies, which plans to save around 10 million pounds with a cost-cutting plan, has appointed Swiss private equity fund manager Christian Kappelhoff-Wulff to its board, as it looks for strategic and structural options to move forward.
