Air France-KLM soars in Paris, buoyed by Kepler Chevreux’s recommendation
Analysts have upgraded their recommendation on the share to “hold” from “sell”, with a target price of €11.50
(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Air France-KLM soars on the Paris Stock Exchange thanks to a positive upgrade from analysts at Kepler Cheuvreux, who have raised their recommendation on AF-KLM to ‘hold’ from ‘reduce’, with a target price of 11.50 euros. As the KC analysts explain, “the share has reached our target price of €11.50, which is why the upgrade of our recommendation is virtually automatic”.
At current share prices, the brokerage firm now sees only limited risks. “We believe that the sector, and therefore Air France-KLM as well, is benefiting from strong support due to the scarcity of available aircraft and the continued high spending on tickets by Business and First Class passengers,” the analysts add. Provided the Iranian crisis does not worsen significantly, Kepler Cheuvreux now considers the share to be “fairly valued”. Kepler Cheuvreux’s medium-term forecasts, however, remain slightly below the consensus estimates.
As well as reflecting the share’s performance against the company’s valuation metrics, analysts point out that Air France-KLM reported a 9.9 per cent increase in turnover in the second quarter, reaching €9.3 billion. The airline group maintained strong demand and effectively managed a significant rise in fuel costs, resulting in an adjusted operating profit of €484 million. This performance highlights the company’s resilience in a volatile market and reflects Air France-KLM’s ability to navigate challenging conditions whilst maintaining passenger demand and freight growth.
