Shares in Stagecoach were hit by a double-digit plunge today after the public transport provider said the Paris terror attacks had left passengers wary of travelling to big cities.
The Perth-based group’s stock fell by almost 14% in early trading after the attacks and other challenges including bad weather in the UK led it to make a “modest” revision to its financial forecasts.
Market analysts moved to downgrade full year earnings estimates for Stagecoach by around 5% in the wake of the warning.
Chief executive Martin Griffiths told The Courier the business was currently facing a number of external challenges including a reticence to travel to major cities following the Paris atrocity last month.
However, he said the firm had previous experience of such situations following the 7/7 bombings in London in 2005 and said the impact on passenger behaviour was likely to be temporary.
“We acknowledge there are short-term challenges facing the business,” Mr Griffiths said.
“But these are the sorts of challenges – the terrible impact of the terror attacks, the weather and road congestion – that we have faced and come through before and we are still confident in the underlying strength of the business.”