Latest news with #Franco-Dutch
Times
01-05-2025
- Business
- Times
Fall in Europeans flying to US amid ‘consumer uncertainty'
Mainland Europe's major international airlines have said that customers are holding back on trips to the United States because of uncertainty during the early months of Donald Trump's second presidential term. Stricter enforcement of border controls has been cited by the German company Lufthansa and the Franco-Dutch combine Air France-KLM for a softening in demand across the Atlantic in recent weeks. Ben Smith, chief executive of Air France-KLM, said that customers were looking 'for a little more clarity' before committing to travel to the United States. Carsten Spohr, chief executive of Lufthansa, said he believed that families were saying, in relation to holiday trips to the US, 'We don't know yet if we really want to go.' The Times reported a month ago that the
Local France
30-04-2025
- Business
- Local France
Air France-KLM reduces losses in first quarter
The Franco-Dutch aviation group said its turnover had risen eight percent over the first quarter in 2024 to €7.2 billion. It said losses had been cut through sustained demand for travel and lower fuel prices. The group said it had 21.8 million passengers between January and March, up 4.5 percent from the first quarter last year. Chief executive Benjamin Smith said ticket sales for summer travel had helped boost the carrier's finances. The group said that for the May-June period, reservations for trips from Europe to the United States had fallen 2.4 percent over last year, while sales of tickets from US cities to Europe had increased 2.1 percent. Advertisement Fuel costs for 2025 are estimated to be €6.7 billion, down from €7.3 billion in 2024, the group said. Air France-KLM suffered in 2024 from a shortage of planes, the strong dollar and people avoiding Paris during the Olympic Games. This limited annual net profit to €317 million.
Reuters
30-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Cheap fuel, strong revenues: Air France-KLM dodges Q1 tariff uncertainty
LONDON, April 30 (Reuters) - Franco-Dutch airline group Air France-KLM ( opens new tab on Wednesday reported better than expected results as it saw strong revenues and a drop in jet fuel costs, despite worries about the knock-on impact from U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threats. European airlines have been on alert for possible repercussions from global economic uncertainty tied to tariffs, although carriers like Lufthansa ( opens new tab have said they've yet to see a notable impact on demand or earnings. Air France-KLM said earlier this month that it would consider dropping economy ticket prices on its transatlantic routes if needed. "The increasingly uncertain context may bring additional headwinds going forward, yet we believe Air France-KLM is uniquely positioned to adapt and perform, thanks to its diversified network," Chief Executive Ben Smith said in a statement. The company said it benefited from ongoing demand to its hub, Paris, and that it planned to mitigate risks from tariff turmoil by diversifying its routes and shifting capacity if needed. The group reported an operating loss of 328 million euros ($373.85 million) for the first quarter, compared to a 370 million euro ($421.73 million) loss expected by analysts polled by LSEG. That's an improvement of 161 million euros ($183.51 million)over the same quarter last year. The first quarter is often the weakest for airlines given lower bookings between January and March. Airlines make up revenues in the busy summer travel season. ($1 = 0.8773 euros)
Bloomberg
30-04-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Air France-KLM Loss Narrows on Premium Travel, Cheaper Fuel
Air France-KLM reported a narrower first-quarter loss as the airline benefited from a lower fuel bill, cost cuts and consistently strong demand for premium travel. The operating loss shrank by one-third to €328 million ($374 million) from the year-ago period, while revenue advanced 7.7% to about €7.2 billion, the Franco-Dutch airline group said in a statement on Wednesday. Analysts in a Bloomberg survey had estimated an operating loss of €390.2 million. Airlines typically lose money in the first quarter after the slow winter months.
The Guardian
15-04-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
US firm in £263m takeover bid for Bank of England banknote printer
A bidding war could be heating up for De La Rue, the 200-year-old British firm that prints banknotes for the Bank of England, after its board recommended an all-cash offer from the US buyout firm Atlas Holdings. De La Rue's shares climbed by as much as 16% on Tuesday morning after the company released a statement to investors saying that its board had recommended shareholders accept Atlas's offer of 130p per share, which valued the company at £263m. The all-cash takeover bid was at a 16% premium to De La Rue's closing price on Monday, which the company board described as 'fair and reasonable'. The City financier Edi Truell, however, is reportedly considering a higher offer of 132.17p per share, which could trigger a bidding war. Investment funds controlled by Truell, a pensions and private equity entrepreneur, have made the proposal to De La Rue, as first reported by Sky News. The company said it had not received a firm offer from Truell, and released a further statement later on Tuesday reaffirming its recommendation of the Atlas offer. 'It would take something very significant for the board to make any other decision right now, and I don't see that happening,' said De La Rue's chief executive, Clive Vacher. The Atlas offer would give De La Rue the benefit of backing from a 'financially strong company', he said. 'We are expecting continuity of strategy, continuity of management, continuity of employees, continuity of location and continuity of customers.' The sale to Atlas, which would mean De La Rue delisting from the London Stock Exchange, would be subject to shareholder approval and regulatory clearance. Vacher said he hoped the deal could be completed by early summer. The company, which is headquartered in Basingstoke, first confirmed in January that it was in takeover talks with Disruptive Capital GP and Pension SuperFund Capital (PSFC), founded by Truell. The deal with PSFC was conditional on the completion of De La Rue's £300m sale of its authentication division to Crane NXT, which was announced in October 2024. The company expects that sale to complete on 1 May. The long-running takeover process took another turn in February, when De La Rue launched a formal sale process after it said it had received 'preliminary approaches' from more than one potential bidder. The company has faced a string of challenges, including a widespread fall in the use of cash, which accelerated during the pandemic, and it has issued a number of profit warnings in recent years. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion The company stopped production of banknotes and UK passports at its plant in Gateshead in 2020 after it lost out on the contract to print post-Brexit blue passports to the Franco-Dutch company Gemalto. After the completion of the sale of its authentication business, De La Rue will employ about 1,250 people, of whom just over half are based in the UK. Atlas has said that as part of its offer it would cut about 50 jobs at the company, or 4% of the workforce, mainly in positions related to being a listed business. The company can trace its history back to 1813, when Thomas de la Rue founded it as a printing business in Guernsey, before setting up in London a decade later selling straw hats and stationery. It has a contract with the Bank of England to run the central bank's printing facility in Debden, Essex, and was involved in printing millions of new banknotes featuring the image of King Charles before his coronation. Truell did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
