Nucor earnings beat by $0.08, revenue fell short of estimates
On Wednesday, Barclays adjusted its stance on Flughafen Zurich AG (FHZN:SW) (OTC: UZAPF), downgrading the stock from Overweight to Equalweight and lowering its price target to CHF210.00 from the previous CHF220.00. The revision followed the company's first-half 2024 financial results, which fell short of expectations.
Flughafen Zurich's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) for the first half of 2024 grew by 7% year-over-year to CHF347 million, which was 3% below the company-sourced consensus of CHF358 million. Net profit saw a 10% year-over-year increase to CHF152 million, yet it was 6% below the consensus figures.
The shortfall in EBITDA against both Barclays' and consensus estimates was attributed to higher labor, police, and security costs. Despite moderate labor inflation in Switzerland, the airport faced cost increases due to investments aimed at managing security lines and a significant rise in airport staff. These changes were necessary to restart long-term projects that had been on hold since the pandemic.
Monthly retail data reported by the airport revealed a downturn, with airside unit spend normalizing from pandemic highs and landside revenues suffering due to ongoing construction work. Despite the underwhelming retail performance, Flughafen Zurich raised its full-year 2024 passenger guidance to 31 million, which is 98% of the levels seen in 2019.
This is an increase from the previous forecast of 30 million passengers or 95% of 2019 figures. The update aligns with actuals from the first half and capacity filings for the second half of the year. Other key performance indicators (KPIs) remained the same, except for a CHF50 million reduction in capital expenditure projections, as some spending for Noida will now extend into FY25.
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