Flybe boss expects ‘tough six months’
26.01.12
Flybe chairman and CEO Jim French has said that he has no regrets about the airline's stock market flotation – despite its falling share price and forecast losses for this financial year, the Western Morning News reports. He said that the past year had been the toughest of his 40 year career in aviation, but said that Flybe’s robust business model would see it return to growth in the future.
The combination of a drop in consumer spending that has seen passenger numbers fall away and a 40 percent hike in oil prices have hit revenue levels, prompting the company to issue several profits warnings, but Mr French said these were short, rather than long term factors.
He said: ‘It has been very disappointing and concerning but it is clear it is a market condition, it is not Flybe. Do I regret the IPO? Not in the slightest – the IPO has strengthened our balance sheet. It has enabled us to acquire, we used 20 odd million euros to acquire the Finnish airline, and it enabled us to finance the deposits on four of our aircraft on very advantageous terms and it has given us a cash balance during this difficult period.’
He said that the company’s business model, its relationship with European partners and low levels of capital expenditure planned for the future would see a restoration of its fortunes after a ‘tough’ first half of 2012. He said: ‘The consensus is that we will make a small loss. I can’t give a forecast but you can’t argue with the consensus.’
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