TUI AG (LON:TUI) shares lost over a third of their value on Monday as the travel giant withdrew its financial guidance for the current year after deciding to suspend “the vast majority of all travel operations” amid the escalating coronavirus crisis.
In an update released late on Sunday, the operator said package travel, cruises and hotel operations will be suspended “until further notice” in an effort to contain the spread of the virus, which so far has infected around 170,000 people worldwide and resulted in over 6,500 deaths.
READ: TUI share slump continues as Tenerife hotel is quarantined
Following the withdrawal of its financial guidance, TUI added that it will refrain from issuing new guidance “under the current circumstances” and that it was taking “substantial cost measures” to mitigate the hit to its earnings including applying for state aid to support the business until normal operations resumed.
In a note on Monday, analysts at UBS said there was “a good chance” that the company could access further liquidity through state aid and retained their ’neutral’ rating and 970p price target, although they added that net debt was “likely to increase” and that the level of monthly cash burn was “difficult to evaluate”.
The shares tumbled 31.9% to 245p in late-morning.
--Adds UBS comment and updates share price--