Corporate world flags 'huge uncertainty' from war impact

Heathrow Airport has flagged 'huge uncertainty' over a recovery.

The ongoing conflict in Ukraine is continuing to have a detrimental impact on the corporate world.

London's Heathrow Airport said concerns from US travellers over war in Europe, longer flight times to avoid closed airspace, and higher fuel prices had added to lingering worries about Covid, creating 'huge uncertainty' over the recovery in flying.

The UK's largest airport said it had not seen as many passengers return last month as it expected, with 2.8m passengers travelling through the hub, just over half of pre-pandemic levels and 15% below its forecast.

Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said: 

Aviation's recovery remains overshadowed by war and Covid uncertainty."

The airport said outbound traffic was recovering strongly but demand from inbound leisure and business travel remained suppressed by Covid testing and quarantine requirements in place in nearly two-thirds of the markets it served.

Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz, meanwhile, said it has €2bn in assets that could be threatened by Russian proposals to nationalise the property of foreign firms that leave because of its invasion of Ukraine. The company said the war in Ukraine raised a range of risks from disruptions to parts to energy supply or even cyberattacks.

"These risks could be exacerbated by the potential expropriation of assets of Russian subsidiaries," Mercedes-Benz said.

Russia's ruling party, United Russia, said this week a government commission had approved the first step towards nationalising the assets of firms more than 25% owned by foreigners from "unfriendly states".

Maersk

Meanwhile, Danish shipping and transport giant Maersk said it would sell its holdings in Russian ports due to the war in Ukraine. Maersk plans to divest its 30.75% stake in Global Ports Investments, which controls six terminals in Russia and two in Finland.

The planned sale is the latest measure the Danish company is taking in response to the war. Maersk earlier this month stopped taking new orders to and from Russia and also dropped all intercontinental rail bookings between Asia and Europe.

Maersk has said the war was starting to indirectly affect global trade patterns, causing delays and thereby stressing supply chains which still haven’t recovered from imbalances caused by the pandemic. Maersk controls about 17% of the world’s container vessels. 

Holcim

Elsewhere, Holcim — the world's biggest cement maker — has suspended capital investment in Russia while maintaining its local operations in the country. The Swiss company said last month it expected "very limited" direct impact from the conflict in Ukraine. 

Domino's

Meanwhile, the Russian franchisee of global pizza chain Domino's has suspended royalty payments from its restaurants in Russia and will limit further investment in the country. DP Eurasia, the Dutch-based franchisee of Domino's in Russia, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia, is Russia's third largest pizza delivery firm with 188 outlets, all of which remain open. 

• Reuters and Bloomberg