www.flybe.com

From Belfast Telegraph........

Blow for George Best Belfast City Airport as 52 Flybe staff lose jobs

Flybe said it was business as usual and wouldn't be drawn on whether any of its routes will be cut
By David Elliott – 16 November 2013,

Airline Flybe's George Best Belfast City Airport base has borne a large part of the swingeing cuts to the airline's workforce after it announced 52 pilots and cabin crew will face redundancy.

With that total nearly a third of the total headcount of 163 based in Belfast, only the airline's headquarters in Exeter has suffered a harsher reduction in headcount with 116 staff due to be cut.

The "proposed" redundancies are part of the 500 jobs chief executive Saad Hammad earlier in the week announced he was going to cut across the UK.

The airline currently employs 2,700 people in total.

Flybe said it was business as usual and wouldn't be drawn on whether any of its routes will be cut as a result of the restructuring of the business by Mr Hammad.

He told the Belfast Telegraph the Belfast City Airport base was "core" to Flybe. Since taking over at the helm of the business, he has launched a full scale overhaul and earlier this week managed to report a profit of nearly £14m.

That profit and the announcement of further headcount reduction helped push the Flybe share price up by around 30%, although the stock is still trading at around a third of its 2010 value.

"It is a matter of great regret that many valued and hard-working colleagues may leave the company," Mr Saad said.

"The proposed redundancy process will be done fairly to deliver an equitable outcome for all employees involved in Belfast, to provide the best possible basis for future company growth and secure the long term employment for the remainder of our staff."

The airline is now consulting with staff and unions. Alliance East Belfast MLA Judith Cochrane said she was disappointed.

"I am particularly concerned as the City Airport has the second highest number of job losses in this announcement by Flybe, especially given that it will mean a third of the employees will lose their job," she said.

"The decision by Flybe to scrap its Belfast to Gatwick route earlier this year may have been a factor in its decision to cut so many jobs here."

BACKGROUND

Budget airline Flybe Group PLC is Europe's largest independent regional flight provider which operates more than 180 routes to 65 European ariports. It came into being in 1979 under the name of Jersey European Airways. Currently employing around 2,600 people, it has large bases at George Best Belfast City Airport as well as Southampton, Birmingham and Manchester airports. It has a total of 14 bases across the UK, Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. The airline is the biggest operator at George Best Belfast City Airport.

Here's HSBC's eps forecasts growth year on year starting this year:

2013/2014/2015

Diluted EPS (adjusted) 108% 364% 95%

Here's their eps forecasts:

2013/2014/2015

EPS reported (fully diluted) 0.04 0.16 0.31

This from HSBC note:

"We upgrade Flybe to OW(V). We see the
revitalized management team working hard to
reshape the business, fixing the core UK regional
airline. We are eager to understand the network
configuration of the new smaller Flybe, since this
will define how sustainable the business can be.
However, we are reassured by the logic of the
steps taken so far. We see existential doubt
easing and we expect further transactions to create
a larger cash buffer to secure the business against
exogenous events.
We would not be surprised if the company were to
consider raising fresh cash from the financial
markets. We would expect the optimum time for
this to be once the latest restructuring plans have
been secured and the commercial and network
path forwards have been communicated"

U bought them on a T10 gf ? .... ffs calm down calm down and give them six months.

Moving ahead today.

No resistance from here to 165p.

Getting on to 130p today incredible.

Liberum retain a 'buy' and up their target price from 130p to 150p.

I'm still in.

Flying.

lol

Tonight? :-)

Moving nicely today.

Cruising.

Full throttle now ... breakout ?

New one year high.

Placing of £150mill.

They buying something or just skint ?

FLYING TODAY.

have they been tipped by Shares mag or the IC?.

Its Thursday..