Dufry, LVMH have strong days – SHARE WRAP
Shares in Dufry, the global travel retailer with operations in 41 countries, surged 17.5% on Friday, for no apparent reason. It is over two weeks since the Swiss company released its 2008 financial results, including an 18% increase in turnover (on constant FX rates). EBITDA (before other operational results) increased by 23% on constant FX rates, while EBITDA margin improved by 0.5 ppts to 13.9% in 2008.
Dufry stated 2009 would be a "challenging" year, though its long-term business model is unchanged, with diversification and cost flexibility key to performance.
Meanwhile, shares in LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, the world's largest luxury-goods manufacturer, rebounded by 6.5% on Friday after coming under selling pressure earlier in the week after its first-quarter earnings missed market expectations. The result showed weak revenue growth, attributed to falling demand for Tag Heuer watches and Moet champagne, offset by rising sales of handbags.
LVMH also denied rumours it is planning to sell Moët Hennessy, its Wines & Spirits division, to Diageo, which already owns a 34% stake in the unit.
Selected airports daily share price movements (% change): 24-Apr-09
Source: Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation & Yahoo! Finance