SAirGroup promises profits despite rumours to the contrary
The SAirGroup is expecting to make profits of SFr200 million this year, despite widespread speculation that the company is haemorrhaging money.
An SAirGroup spokesman in Zurich confirmed a report in the weekly newspaper, “Cash”, which quoted financial officer, Georges Schorderet, as saying that profits would reach the SFr200 million mark.
On Sunday, the chief executive of the group, Philippe Bruggisser, denied there was a financial and management crisis within the SAirGroup.
Last weekend, the “Sonntagszeitung” newspaper claimed that the group was losing SFr3 million a day. The paper said Swissair, Sabena, the German LTU travel concern and the group’s participation in French airlines was driving it deeper into the red.
But Schorderet says Swissair should have a balanced result this year.
On Thursday its in-house newspaper “news” asked Bruggisser what he was going to do to ensure that the Swissair stock would not plunge any further.
Bruggisser said there were two major “construction sites” which needed to be restructured as quickly as possible. He was referring to LTU and the merger of three domestic French airlines – AOM, Air Littoral and Air Liberté.
“Let me also point out that the share price didn’t drop that drastically. Look at the shares of airlines that are not acquisition candidates – their share prices are no better,” he told “news”.
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