John Menzies profit down by 20% as it suspends dividend

John Menzies profit down by 20% as it suspends dividend in face of the coronavirus crisis

John Menzies has suspended its dividend after warning the coronavirus outbreak will dent profits

John Menzies suspended its annual dividend as the aviation services business prepares for coronavirus.

The Edinburgh firm has already warned the outbreak would dent profits, and the operator of the behind-the-scenes parts of airports, has now said that further cost-cutting lies ahead.

It reported a 19.9 per cent decline in pre-tax profits to £17.3million for the year to December 31, on the back of the grounding of Boeing’s 737 Max aircraft, the demise of Thomas Cook and the loss of contracts in the Dominican Republic and Panama.

Meanwhile, revenue increased by 2 pert cent to £1.32billion and it said it was pleased following a major restructure after the sale of its newspaper distribution arm.

Philipp Joeinig, executive chairman, said: ‘We are experiencing headwinds due to Covid-19, but in the medium and long term we see genuine opportunities for growth.’

 

 

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