Airline SAS lifts profit outlook after strong results, shares jump

SAS hiked its full-year earnings outlook on Friday as Q3 profits topped market expectations on the back of strong customer demand and efficiency gains, sending its shares sharply higher. Citing a stronger than expected performance over the first nine months of the year, SAS lifted its forecast for full-year pretax earnings before non-recurring items to about $220m. SAS shares rose sharply on the results, and were up 14% in early trade on Friday. Pretax profit for the May to July quarter came in at 2.00b crowns, slightly up from 1.97b a year ago, and beating the 1.77b crowns expected in a Reuters poll of analysts. The surprisingly strong result came despite headwinds from currency effects and rising jet fuel prices, and SAS said the weaker crown and high jet fuel prices would add challenges also in Q4 and the next fiscal year. “Going forward, it will be critical to offset these unfavourable trends with higher revenue and the implementation of our efficiency measures,” SAS said.<br/>