Lastminute results fail to hit expectations
Online travel business lastminute.com saw its share price fall sharply today after admitting annual results had “fallen short” of expectations.
The company, which warned of challenging markets earlier this summer, said full-year underlying pre-tax profits came in at £4.6m (€6.5m) – higher than last year but lower than City forecasts of £7.9m (€11.2m).
Shares dived 18% – despite comments from outgoing chairman Allan Leighton that the group had performed “solidly” given the trading environment, and was well placed to cash in on consumers’ increasing confidence in buying online.
