Advertisement
UK markets closed

  • FTSE 100

    8,040.00
    -4.81 (-0.06%)
     

  • FTSE 250

    19,703.68
    -96.04 (-0.49%)
     

  • AIM

    754.00
    -0.87 (-0.12%)
     

  • GBP/EUR

    1.1633
    +0.0005 (+0.04%)
     

  • GBP/USD

    1.2434
    -0.0018 (-0.15%)
     

  • Bitcoin GBP

    52,103.16
    -1,602.72 (-2.98%)
     

  • CMC Crypto 200

    1,404.55
    -19.55 (-1.37%)
     

  • S&P 500

    5,063.29
    -7.26 (-0.14%)
     

  • DOW

    38,367.26
    -136.43 (-0.35%)
     

  • CRUDE OIL

    83.03
    -0.33 (-0.40%)
     

  • GOLD FUTURES

    2,343.80
    +1.70 (+0.07%)
     

  • NIKKEI 225

    38,460.08
    +907.92 (+2.42%)
     

  • HANG SENG

    17,201.27
    +372.34 (+2.21%)
     

  • DAX

    18,068.64
    -69.01 (-0.38%)
     

  • CAC 40

    8,086.34
    -19.44 (-0.24%)
     
Money:

The five essential pieces of financial paperwork you must never lose

Mislaying key documents can cause real headaches, so it’s worth tracking down these most commonly-lost bits of paperwork

Air Berlin says is in advanced strategic talks

Reuters - UK Focus

* Air Berlin (Berlin: AB1.BE - news) is in discussions over options for company

* Says options would have a substantial impact on company

* Does not specify what the options are

* Pushes back annual results by a week to March 27

* Shares extend gains to close 14.8 percent higher (Adds share price, consensus, background)

FRANKFURT, March 19 (Reuters) - Air Berlin said it was in advanced talks over options that would have a substantial impact on Germany's second-biggest airline if implemented, without being more specific.

It said in a statement on Wednesday that it was therefore pushing back its annual results by a week to March 27.

ADVERTISEMENT

Air Berlin, which is almost 30 percent owned by Abu Dhabi-based airline Etihad Airways, did not specify the options it was considering or say who was involved in the talks.

Shares in Air Berlin extended gains to end Wednesday's trading session at 2.35 euros, up 14.8 percent.

The airline ran into financial problems after expanding too rapidly in the last decade. It now faces stiff competition from the likes of EasyJet (Other OTC: ESYJY - news) , which is expanding in Germany and trying to tempt business customers in Europe's largest economy.

Air Berlin managed to post its first profit in five years in 2012 only by selling a majority stake in its frequent flyer programme to shareholder Etihad.

Etihad has been building a network of airlines by buying up minority stakes as it seeks to divert more passengers from its partners' planes to its Abu Dhabi hub.

Air Berlin had in November scrapped its aim of breaking even at the operating profit level in 2013 and warned it would only come close to consensus for a 40 million euro loss before interest and tax if it found additional sources of income.

Analysts had on average expected Air Berlin to report on Thursday a 2013 operating loss of 120 million euros ($166.9 million) according to a Reuters poll.

($1 = 0.7189 Euros) (Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Additional reporting by Peter Maushagen; Editing by Michael Shields and Victoria Bryan)