LHA.DE - Deutsche Lufthansa AG
| Previous close | 13.06 |
| Open | 11.65 |
| Bid | 11.60 x 948200 |
| Ask | 11.61 x 1900800 |
| Day's range | 11.52 - 12.10 |
| 52-week range | 11.52 - 23.16 |
| Volume | 19,828,175 |
| Avg. volume | 5,273,200 |
| Market cap | 5.59B |
| Beta (5Y monthly) | 1.00 |
| PE ratio (TTM) | 4.02 |
| EPS (TTM) | 2.91 |
| Earnings date | 19 Mar 2020 |
| Forward dividend & yield | 0.80 (6.52%) |
| Ex-dividend date | 08 May 2019 |
| 1y target est | N/A |
- Bloomberg
Germany Tightens Border Checks in Bid to Curb Coronavirus Spread
(Bloomberg) -- Germany tightened border checks and urged the cancellation of major events as authorities across Europe took action to contain the coronavirus.A German government task force said late Friday that travelers from Italy, South Korea, Japan and Iran will need to disclose their health status upon arrival. Checks on railways will also intensify and federal police will boost border patrols.Germany moved to tighten controls as the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country neared 90 individuals, with the total in Europe almost topping 1,000. Infections in Italy, the regional epicenter of the outbreak, soared to 821 late on Friday, from 650 a day earlier. Italy’s government also held a crisis meeting late into the evening.The new German rules already forced the cancellation of the ITB tourism trade fair, set to bring 160,000 visitors to Berlin next week. Earlier in the day, a Swiss ban on public and private gatherings with more than 1,000 people resulted in the axing of the Geneva Motor Show, also set for next week. The wireless industry already scrapped the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.ITB organizers “have never before experienced a comparable situation,” said Wolf-Dieter Wolf, chairman of Berlin’s convention center. The government asked everyone attending the tourism fair to prove that they hadn’t had contact with a person from a coronavirus risk area, an impossible hurdle to clear, organizers said.The number of confirmed cases in the German municipality of Heinsberg, near the Dutch border, rose to 35. Authorities there asked people who came into contact with a married couple with the disease to stay at home. The pair had attended a Carnival event in mid-February with about 400 people, and the isolation affects them and their family and friends, some 1,000 people in all. Heinsberg authorities rejected the idea of a blanket quarantine, however.“We will need to find a pragmatic way not to cripple our health system,” district administrator Stefan Pusch told reporters in a press conference. “I would have to send half of my crisis team home.”UniCredit SpA said one of its Milan-based employees tested positive for the virus after being in self-quarantine since Feb. 21. The bank decided to close the floor where the employee was working. Some soccer games in the country will be played in front of empty stadiums, including the face-off on Sunday between title contenders Juventus and Inter Milan.Italy on Friday approved measures to help areas most affected by the virus. The government plans to suspend utility bills and some mortgages to assist companies and families in the areas most affected by the outbreak. Small- and medium-sized businesses in affected areas will also have preferential access to a state relief fund.In Spain, the number of people with the disease rose to 34. The Netherlands confirmed its first cases, after two contracted the virus on a recent visit to Italy’s Lombardy region. Globally, there are over 83,000 cases.The fallout from the spread risks compounding a broader industrial slump. Deutsche Lufthansa AG announced it will ax as many as 25% of its short-haul flights in the coming weeks, while BASF SE warned of a possible second annual profit drop. Germany’s benchmark DAX Index lost 3.9% on Friday.Growth in Europe’s largest economy will almost certainly be weighed down by the disease, even though the effects of the epidemic don’t yet warrant a monetary-policy response, Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann said, adding that growth could be “somewhat lower” than the 0.6% growth rate predicted in December.Germany is looking into a range of measures to protect its key export sector. The government’s plans would seek to improve conditions for doing business, including reducing the tax burden on companies and boosting tax relief for digital investment. German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz will discuss possible measures with leaders of the coalition parties next week.In France, which has 38 cases, the disease’s arrival in Europe is forcing the government to reevaluate the impact. The country estimated the outbreak in China would shave 0.1 percentage points off economic growth in 2020, but that figure could now be higher, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said in Paris.He plans to speak with European peers and officials at international organizations early next week to update forecasts. Despite the uncertainty, he urged investors to be wary of some “fantastical” figures circulating in financial markets.\--With assistance from Ania Nussbaum, Marco Bertacche, Joost Akkermans, Jan Dahinten, Flavia Rotondi, Patrick Donahue, Laura Millan Lombrana, John Follain and Stefan Nicola.To contact the reporters on this story: Naomi Kresge in Berlin at nkresge@bloomberg.net;Alberto Brambilla in Rome at abrambilla8@bloomberg.net;Patrick Donahue in Berlin at pdonahue1@bloomberg.net;Daniele Lepido in Milan at dlepido1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Chad Thomas at cthomas16@bloomberg.netFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Reuters
Lufthansa to cut flight capacity due to coronavirus spread
German airline group Lufthansa said it will cut the number of short- and medium-haul flights in response to the accelerated spread of the coronavirus. The Lufthansa Group airlines, which include Swiss and Austrian airlines will also reduce flying on long-haul routes, resulting in 23 long-haul aircraft being taken out of operation. Lufthansa said it is not yet possible to estimate the financial impact of the current developments.
- Reuters
Brussels Airlines to cut flights to northern Italy by 30% due to conoravirus
Lufthansa subsidiary Brussels Airlines said on Friday that it will cut its flights to northern Italy by 30% from March 2 to 14 due to the coronavirus outbreak in the region. "Because of the rapidly declining demand in air travel within Europe, Brussels Airlines has taken the decision to reduce flight frequencies on a number of routes in order to limit the negative economic impact on its business," the company said in a statement. The airline said it would look into economic measures such as temporary technical unemployment a company-wide hiring freeze.
- Reuters - UK Focus
WRAPUP 2-Airlines at centre of storm as coronavirus spreads
A new coronavirus, which emerged late last year in China, has sent demand for travel tumbling in recent weeks as the outbreak has spread around the world, raising fears of a pandemic that could plunge the global economy into recession. IAG, which also owns Iberia and Aer Lingus, usually gives an earnings forecast at this time of year, but said the uncertainty over the impact and duration of the coronavirus outbreak meant it could not give accurate guidance at this stage.
- Bloomberg
Airlines Feel Virus Pain With Travel Suspended, Events Canceled
(Bloomberg) -- Europe’s travel industry is headed for its worst stock rout since the financial crisis more than a decade ago as the global spread of the coronavirus disrupts people’s movements and forces companies from Deutsche Lufthansa AG to British Airways to cut back their earnings projections.On Friday, British Airways parent IAG SA became the latest company to warn of the virus’s impact, saying it cannot provide an earnings forecast this year because weakened demand in Asia has now rippled across to Europe. Discount specialist EasyJet Plc said it will cancel some flights in response to slower demand across Italy, the epicenter of the outbreak in Europe, and other markets in the region.Airlines, airports and hotel operators are feeling the brunt of the growing virus crisis, with companies putting lucrative corporate travel on hold, industry groups canceling major events and leasure travelers reconsidering their vacation bookings. Swiss authorities on Friday banned events that draw more than 1,000 people, all but ensuring that next week’s Geneva International Motor Show won’t go ahead as planned.The International Air Transport Association has forecast that the industry will see its first annual decline in global passenger demand in over a decade in 2020, primarily weighed down by the impact of the virus in China. The next weeks will determine the severity of the crisis for the industry because the crucial summer-booking months are fast approaching, Daniel Roeska, senior transport analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein Ltd., said in a Bloomberg Television interview.“If we get a grip on this within the next three to four weeks, possibly it may not be quite as bad,” Roeska said. “But if it drags on into Easter and we don’t gain a higher comfort level than we have now, that’s going to be even tougher for European airlines.”Tough OutlookIAG slumped as much as 9.7%, the biggest drop on Europe’s Stoxx 600 Index, while EasyJet fell as much as 6.4% in London. In Frankfurt, Lufthansa was down as much as 6.1%. The Stoxx 600 Travel & Leisure Index is down 18% this week, headed for its worst return since late 2008.Besides curtailing some routes that connect to most affected regions, airlines have begun aggressively cutting costs to dig in for the longer term. Lufthansa said on Feb. 26 that it would implement a hiring freeze and expand part-time work options. Alitalia plans to extend temporary layoffs for about 4,000 workers following the coronavirus outbreak in Italy.Even before the virus outbreak, the travel industry had faced a tough start to the year amid a growing groundswell of people cutting back on what they perceive as non-essential travel. The trade tensions between the U.S and China have also put a damper on air freight, which fell the most last year since 2009, according to IATA.British Airways scrapped flights to China through the middle of April, and pared frequencies through March to Northern Italy and South Korea due to lower demand. Spanish unit Iberia has canceled flights to Shanghai to the end of April, and is allowing customers to postpone flights to Italy and Japan.“It’s a rapidly changing situation,” with weaker airlines in Europe in danger of failing, said IAG Chief Executive Officer Willie Walsh.Staying PutThe fallout has also affected auxiliary industry, from Amadeus IT Group SA, which operates the industry’s largest booking network, to Airbus SE, the world’s biggest maker of commercial jets that counts China as a major source of revenue.Amadeus reported ticket sales are decelerating globally, while Airbus shares fell as much as 7% on Friday. Fraport AG, the operator of the Frankfurt airport, said this week it would review all major investments, and that passenger and freight traffic to China and wider Asia had taken a major hit. Some companies have required employees to abandon business travel. Nestle SA, the Swiss maker of KitKat snack bars and Nespresso capsules, told employees to avoid traveling until at least mid-March. A similar recommendation at L’Oreal SA, the cosmetics owner of global brands like Lancome and Maybelline, extends through March 31. British American Tobacco Plc, the maker of Lucky Strike cigarettes, said it reduced travel to the bare minimum.A number of corporate exhibitions that usually draw large crowds have been outright canceled, including the Geneva luxury watch show that had been scheduled for April 25-28. While the falling oil price stands to benefit an industry that counts fuel costs as its single biggest expense, it probably won’t be enough to compensate for the damage wrought by the travel slump, Roeska of Bernstein said. Oil is on course for its biggest weekly loss since 2011, with crude prices down more than 14% this week.Still, the fallout does provide airlines with an opportunity to implement adjustments that will help streamline their operations, he said. These include review of fleet requirements, discretionary spending and capacity cuts on poorly performing routes.“This is a good time to approach these,” Roeska said. “Never let a good crisis go to waste.”\--With assistance from Matthew Miller and Anna Edwards.To contact the reporter on this story: Siddharth Philip in London at sphilip3@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at apalazzo@bloomberg.net, Benedikt KammelFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Yahoo Finance UK
BA-owner and easyJet warn on coronavirus impact
Both easyJet and British Airways are cutting flights in the face of falling demand for travel, as coronavirus continues to spread around the world.
- Reuters - UK Focus
IAG says can't forecast 2020 profit due to coronavirus
British Airways-owner IAG said it was unable to give profit guidance for 2020 because of the uncertainty linked to coronavirus which has already knocked travel demand. The airline group said that flight cancellations as a result of the virus meant capacity growth for this year would be lower, and it expected to cut flights on its short-haul European network in the coming days. For 2019, IAG reported a 5.7% drop in operating profit to 3.285 billion euros, slightly ahead of a downgraded forecast of 3.27 billion euros it gave in September when it said a pilots strike would result in a 215 million euros hit.
- Reuters
Airlines KLM and Lufthansa to make budget cuts due to coronavirus
KLM, the Dutch arm of Air France KLM , joined Germany's Lufthansa on Wednesday in making budget cuts in response to a slowdown in business resulting from the coronavirus outbreak. KLM will cut back on hiring new staff and external consultants, delay new IT projects and office refurbishment plans and reduce travel expenses significantly, Chief Financial Officer Erik Swelheim said in an internal letter to management. "The impact on KLM's revenues will be very significant and will only partly be mitigated by lower costs and a lower fuel price," Swelheim said in reference to the coronavirus.
- Bloomberg
Lufthansa Freezes Hiring as Coronavirus Outbreak Squeezes Demand
(Bloomberg) -- Deutsche Lufthansa AG is adopting a package of cost-saving measures, including a hiring freeze, as the economic fallout of the coronavirus starts to bite. The shares fell to a six-month low.While it cannot yet estimate the impact of the virus on earnings, Lufthansa is putting all hiring on hold and offering employees unpaid leave effective immediately, the German airline said Wednesday in a statement. It’s also looking at expanding part-time work options.Global cases of the new coronavirus currently total 80,991, with China accounting for the bulk of those as well as most of the deaths. Concern is growing that the outbreak could develop into a pandemic. Parts of northern Italy -- the Lufthansa group’s second-biggest foreign market, after the U.S. -- are under a lockdown after an outbreak there.Lufthansa and its Swiss and Austrian arms have already scrapped all flights serving mainland China until the end of March. It said it’s planning further cuts to Hong Kong after reducing capacity there. The measures translate into the equivalent of 13 idle aircraft.Shares of Lufthansa fell as much as 3.6% to 12.93 euros, the lowest intraday price since Aug. 16, and were down 3.3% as of 10 a.m. in Frankfurt. The carrier is also scrapping all flight attendant and station personnel training courses that were due to begin in April. In administrative areas, the core Lufthansa brand will reduce project volume by 10% and the budget for material costs by 20%, it said.The group will present fourth-quarter earnings on March 19, when it will comment more on the outbreak, Lufthansa said.To contact the reporter on this story: Richard Weiss in Frankfurt at rweiss5@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Daniel Schaefer at dschaefer36@bloomberg.net, Tom Lavell, Christopher JasperFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Reuters - UK Focus
Airlines plunge as Italian coronavirus outbreak threatens longer crisis
PARIS/LONDON, Feb 24 (Reuters) - European budget airlines bore the brunt of Monday's plunge in global stock markets as the arrival of the coronavirus in Italy pointed to a longer, deeper crisis than many have banked on. EasyJet dropped 16.4% and Ryanair 13.5% as airlines were forced to reassess the fallout from the rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus across Asia and beyond, with South Korea, Italy and Iran now struggling to contain outbreaks. "Concerns are growing that COVID-19 continues to spread and will impact demand to and from other European countries," Credit Suisse analysts said.
- Reuters - UK Focus
LIVE MARKETS-Traffic update: Milan, Tokyo streets calmer than usual
- Reuters - UK Focus
LIVE MARKETS-Tracking virus impact via road/web traffic, property sales
- Reuters - UK Focus
LIVE MARKETS-Black Monday? It's only getting started...
- Reuters - UK Focus
LIVE MARKETS-Coronavirus: deserted hotels, empty airports
- Simply Wall St.
Is Deutsche Lufthansa AG (ETR:LHA) A Good Fit For Your Dividend Portfolio?
Dividend paying stocks like Deutsche Lufthansa AG (ETR:LHA) tend to be popular with investors, and for good reason...
- Bloomberg
What's the Big Attraction in British Airways?
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Even Willie Walsh admits that International Consolidated Airlines Group SA, where he’s the boss, is a “very boring name” for an airline group (IAG’s portfolio includes the more evocatively titled British Airways and Iberia).But should his successor ever wish to change it to something racier they’ll have to seek the blessing of Qatar Airways. On Wednesday the loss-making Gulf carrier said it had hiked its IAG stake from 21.4% to 25.1% in a move that will have cost about $600 million at current prices.Under British share ownership rules, an investor with 25% or more of the stock can block special resolutions, such as changes to the articles of association or to a company’s name. Unlike some airlines, IAG is focused on making money for its shareholders but it’s still a little baffling why the Qatar Airways boss, Akbar Al Baker, would pay all that money for such limited influence (his airline didn’t respond to questions seeking further clarification). Usually, the company’s approach is not to seek board seats.Qatar Airways is doubtless snaffling up stakes in rivals as a means of asserting soft power on behalf of its government, and enhancing its own global flight network — and it’s not alone in doing that. But the Gulf company is one of the most acquisitive carriers, and maybe that’s not a good thing given the mixed performance of airline stocks. In addition to its IAG shares, Qatar owns minority stakes in Latam, Cathay Pacific and China Southern Airlines. It also wants one in RwandAir. Financial considerations aside, Qatar certainly has more of a need to curry favor with international partners than a typical airline. In 2017, the state’s regional neighbors Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates imposed an air, sea and land blockade that remains in place. That threatens Doha’s status as an aviation hub.But Qatar Airways’ efforts to gain influence overseas by acquiring stakes in rival carriers haven’t always been welcome. Al Baker had to give up on buying a stake in American Airlines Group Inc. after the latter’s chief executive officer, Doug Parker, made clear the Qataris wouldn’t be welcome. U.S. airlines often accuse the Gulf carriers of unfair competition owing to state subsidies, which they deny.More recently, Lufthansa AG said Qatar Airways should rethink any idea of investing in the German flag carrier. “We did not have Lufthansa privatized in Germany to have it nationalized in Qatar," a spokesman told Reuters in December, sounding unusually frosty. In fairness, IAG has been one of Qatar Airways’ better investments. The stock has gained about 17% in British pound terms since the airline first acquired a 10% stake in 2015. Subsequent IAG share purchases have done better. With respect, though, few financial advisers would counsel their clients to make concentrated bets on airline stocks.Some of Qatar Airways’ other investments are instructive. Earlier this month Air Italy went into liquidation despite Qatar’s strong desire to keep it afloat. In the end its 49% shareholding counted for nothing. The 9.6% stake that Qatar purchased in Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. in 2017 also appears to be underwater. The stake was acquired for HK$13.65 a share but the stock is now worth about HK$10.50 amid the protests in Hong Kong and the new coronavirus. Others have struggled too. Qatar’s Gulf rival Etihad Airways PJSC invested in Alitalia and Air Berlin Plc. Both went bust.Of course, Al Baker can invest his company’s capital however he wishes — he doesn’t have shareholders to answer to. But he may want to listen to someone who does. Walsh, who will step down at IAG in March, had this to say about the merits of shareholdings and alliances late last year: “Taking a minority stake without having some form of control, or some influence over what the airline is going to do, has no value whatsoever.”To contact the author of this story: Chris Bryant at cbryant32@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: James Boxell at jboxell@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners.Chris Bryant is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering industrial companies. He previously worked for the Financial Times.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinionSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Reuters - UK Focus
LIVE MARKETS-Closing snapshot: V-day of records
* STOXX 600 hits fresh record highs * German GDP disappoints * EDF tops STOXX 600 after beating forecast * RBS shares drop after results Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of European equity markets brought to you by Reuters stocks reporters. You can share your thoughts with Thyagaraju Adinarayan (thyagaraju.adinarayan@tr.com), Joice Alves (joice.alves@tr.com), Julien Ponthus (julien.ponthus@tr.com) in London and Danilo Masoni (danilo.masoni@tr.com) in Milan. CLOSING SNAPSHOT: V-DAY OF RECORDS (1640 GMT) Here it comes a good reason to celebrate this Valentine's Day: the STOXX 600 hit record highs today, again!
- Reuters - UK Focus
LIVE MARKETS-A rate cut every five days
* STOXX 600 hits fresh record highs * German GDP disappoints * EDF tops STOXX 600 after beating forecast * RBS shares drop after results * Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of European equity markets brought to you by Reuters stocks reporters. You can share your thoughts with Thyagaraju Adinarayan (thyagaraju.adinarayan@tr.com), Joice Alves (joice.alves@tr.com), Julien Ponthus (julien.ponthus@tr.com) in London and Danilo Masoni (danilo.masoni@tr.com) in Milan. A RATE CUT EVERY FIVE DAYS (1405 GMT) When Mexico decided to cut rates yesterday little did they know they'd be the 800th to do so since the global financial crisis (H/T to BofA on the rate cut count).
- Reuters - UK Focus
LIVE MARKETS-Much love for France on Valentine's Day
* STOXX 600 hits fresh record highs * German GDP disappoints * EDF tops STOXX 600 after beating forecast * RBS shares drop after results * Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of European equity markets brought to you by Reuters stocks reporters. You can share your thoughts with Thyagaraju Adinarayan (thyagaraju.adinarayan@tr.com), Joice Alves (joice.alves@tr.com), Julien Ponthus (julien.ponthus@tr.com) in London and Danilo Masoni (danilo.masoni@tr.com) in Milan. MUCH LOVE FOR FRANCE ON VALENTINE'S DAY (1157 GMT) If you look at the top movers today, there is an eye-catching French utility topping the pan-European index: EDF - the stock gained more than 9% after the company beat forecasts.
- Reuters - UK Focus
EU aviation agency says monitoring coronavirus, no current need for directive
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued a safety information bulletin on Monday saying It was closely monitoring developments related to the coronavirus outbreak in China but the concern does currently warrant an operational directive.
- Reuters - UK Focus
Flights axed and floods feared as Storm Ciara clobbers Europe
Storm Ciara lashed Britain and northern continental Europe with heavy rain and wind speeds that reached more than 90 miles an hour (145 kph) in places on Sunday, forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights, train services and sports matches. More than 200 flood warnings were issued across Britain, which recorded a maximum wind speed of 93 miles an hour at Aberdaron in Wales.
