Italian transport restaurant group Autogrill has confirmed its 2019 earnings forecast after reporting preliminary sales of €5 billion last year.
Autogrill, which runs restaurants and cafés in some of the world's busiest airports, said that its sales rose 6.4% at current exchange rates and were up 3.1% on a like-for-like basis.
Like-for-like revenue growth was driven by airports, while the performance of restaurants and outlets in motorways and railway stations was positive, but less buoyant.
The depreciation of the euro against the dollar had a positive impact on sales of €133 million.
Underlying Core Earnings And Earnings Per Share Expectations
Autogrill said that it expects 2019 underlying core earnings of between €458 million and €463 million.
In June, the company had indicated a range of €450 million to €470 million for its 2019 underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA).
It also said that its reported earnings per share (EPS) would be between €0.91 and €0.92, in line with a €0.88-€0.93 forecast in June.
Analysts see limited impact on the company from the coronavirus outbreak since the portion of traffic to and from China for airports where Autogrill is present is small. The company did not mention the virus in its statement.
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