Merger of duty free no longer an option
The board of directors of Autogrill has chosen
the electronic stock market Borsa Italiana for the listing of the shares of
World Duty Free (WDF), when the split of Travel Retail and Duty Free is
completely handled. This would also mean that a merger with another big player
in the duty fee business is no longer an option.
The decision still has to be approved at the
WDF stockholders’ meetingin the beginning of June, but since Autogrill
owns all shares, this is only a formality.
Almost status quo in the first quarter
From the quarterly results announced by
Autogrill, it looks like the company is succeeding in limiting the consequences
of the lasting economic crisis: the consolidated turnover was 1,239.6 million
euro, 0.2% lower than in the same quarter of the previous year. Traditionally
the first quarter is the weakest for Autogrill.
Especially the activities at airports are
performing well (restaurants and duty free). Autogrill has the United Kingdom
and the United States to thank for this status quo, because on the European
mainland – especially in Italy and Spain – the group is suffering from the
crisis and lower consumption.
