Flybe has stated that it expected full-year profits for the 12 months to March of £22 million, some £2 million short of analyst expectations. Shares in the airline tanked 25% on the news – falling 57½ to 172½p on Thursday. The fall in profits was blamed on high oil prices, falling demand due to the economic situation.
Flybe chief executive and chairman Jim French has claimed shareholders are not angry with the management despite a profits warning and impact on the company’s share price.
However shares in the UK airline have fallen very sharply very soon after the company was floated. Derek Mitchell, a portfolio manager at Royal London Asset Management, one of the largest institutional shareholders in Flybe, said to local media: “It’s not good the shares have fallen so far so soon after the IPO – it’s very disappointing. The decline in share price is not something we like to see. It will obviously impact our fund performance.”