A few days before the publication of its summer results, on October 28, Air France-KLM is gaining altitude on the stock market. The title of the Franco-Dutch carrier climbed 3.3%, to 1.5 euros, Wednesday, and 14.8% in five days. In addition to the solid results and reservations of several competitors (Easyjet, IAG or United Airlines), the action is boosted by a note from Kepler Cheuvreux, in which the analyst in charge of the file, Ruxandra Haradau-Döser, raises his opinion of “keep” to “buy”, to aim for a new price target of 1.9 euros, against 1.2 euros so far. The analyst points out that the Air France-KLM share has outperformed that of its peers since the start of the third quarter, a trend which is set to continue due to the group’s better operational performance.
Return of tourists
” The resumption of international routes is a boon for Air France-KLM, given that it stimulates sales of high-end products and that the yield[recette unitaire] on economy flights should be high in the third quarter “, continues the Bloomberg Intelligence analyst. All is not rosy, however. KLM had to deal with massive cancellations at the Amsterdam Schipol hub, due to lack of staff, and the limitation of the number of flights decided by the government in order to fight against noise pollution, in particular. The end of government aid, the strength of the dollar and persistent inflation – which has triggered wage increases amid strike threats – are all points to watch, as is Air France’s participation in the consolidation of the sector after reimbursement of 75% of French public aid. The consortium formed by Air France-KLM, Delta Air Lines and the Certares Management fund has been selected by Rome to enter into exclusive talks with a view to buying back part of the capital of ITA Airways (ex-Alitalia).
In terms of results, analysts forming the Bloomberg consensus expect, on average, an increase of almost 62% in revenues, to 7.39 billion euros, for a gross operating surplus practically doubled, to 1.5 billion. Negative of 192 million euros in the summer of 2021, net income group share should return to positive territory at 557.8 million.
CP