(new: analysts, closing price)

FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX Broker) - A disappointing profit forecast for 2024 sent Lufthansa shares down to their lowest level since the beginning of November on Monday. As the weakest stock in the MDax, they lost 4.59 percent to 6.56 euros at the close of trading. The next support level is around 6.50 euros. If it breaks, it would be the lowest price since October 2022. The downward trend that has been in place since the beginning of December remains intact.

The new guidance for the airline's operating result (EBIT) is below both his assumption and the consensus estimate, wrote analyst Jarrod Castle from Swiss bank UBS in an initial reaction. The announcement is negative for the sentiment towards the share. Meanwhile, bookings for the summer months were in line with expectations. He maintained his buy recommendation

The many strikes in air traffic are thwarting the airline's profit plans. Following an unexpectedly high loss in the first quarter, CEO Carsten Spohr is only expecting an operating profit (adjusted EBIT) of around 2.2 billion euros for the current year. This is around half a billion less than previously targeted.

Analyst Alexander Irving of Bernstein Research left his rating at "Underperform" with a price target of 7 euros after Lufthansa's announcement. The shortened outlook in the wake of the strikes and the resulting negative impact on demand is good for the other major European airlines such as Air France-KLM and IAG in the short term, as they should receive more bookings for connecting flights in the short term, he wrote. The shares of both companies recently traded between one and one and a half percent lower./ajx/he

-----------------------

dpa-AFX Broker - the Trader News from dpa-AFX

-----------------------