John Menzies plc (LON: MNZS) have seen their shares boosted on Thursday morning after the firm reported good progress in the second half of financial 2019.
John Menzies plc is the holding company of Menzies Aviation, an aviation services business based in Edinburgh, Scotland, providing Ground Handling, Cargo Handling, Cargo Forwarding and Fuelling.
Shares of John Menzies were boosted 3.41% after the positive announcement to 424p. 28/11/19 11:15BST.
John Menzies have experienced a turbulent year, as the firm saw its shares dip in July following a profit warning.
John Menzies said that the reduced earnings reflected what had been a challenging period for the aviation industry, with their business particularly hampered by weak cargo volumes and flight schedule reductions.
Following this warning, seniority at the firm then decided to reshuffle their senior board a week after, announcing the department of the presiding Chairman of the Board in Dr Dermot F Smurfit.
After the hectic year for the firm, it seems that some ground has been recovered which will please shareholders.
The firm said that it had made good progress in the second half of 2019, and will keep in line with management expectations.
Commercially, John Menzies said it has put the business back on the front foot, evidenced by substantial contracts renewed during the year, new contract wins and a full pipeline of opportunities.
In addition, the group is addressing its under-performing operations, and has implemented a cost-reduction programme that delivers at least £10 million of savings during the current year, and into 2020.
“This year has been about building for the future and I am confident that we have the team in place to drive the business forward. The improvements in our operational delivery, commercial activities and customer engagement have been key and I look forward to seeing the benefits of this come through as we progress,” said Chief Executive Giles Wilson.
As John Menzies mentioned, the aviation industry has been troubled and many firms have struggled.
In September, it was announced that Thomas Cook (LON:TCG) had collapsed, and yesterday it looked just as gloomy for Fastjet PLC (LON: FJET).
Additionally, firms such as IAG (LON: IAG) and Ryanair (LON: RYA) have seen slumps in business, which led to cuts in their medium and long term forecasts.
Certainly, with the state of the aviation industry shareholders can be appeased with the update from John Menzies, as recovery has been made in a tough trading year for the firm.
