A series of raging wildfires in Greece are set to force extra costs on airlines and sent shares lower.

Ryanair shares lost 10% despite net profits soaring by almost 300% to €663 million in its first quarter compared with the same period last year, driven by “strong” Easter bookings and the UK’s extra bank holiday for King Charles’ Coronation.

Investors are concerned because the management lowered its traffic guidance for the full year. 

For the period April to June there was an 11% increase in passenger traffic compared with the same months last year, which was “badly damaged” by the Russian invasion of Ukraine at the end of February last year.

Revenues increased 40% year-on-year in the quarter to €3.65 billion.

Ryanair said it expects full-year passenger traffic to reach 183.5 million, an increase of 9% from last year but slightly lower than the 185 million previously anticipated. This, it said, was due to “Boeing delivery delays in spring and in autumn 2023″.

International Consolidated Airlines Group, the owner of British Airways and the biggest player in the sector, fell by 2.75p to 153p. Wizz Air lost 171p to close at 2496o while easyJet was 21p lower at 455.5p.

The FTSE 100, however, edged up 14.86 points to 7,678.59 as traders remained cautious before interest rate decisions this week by the US Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan.

Investors were awaiting a packed week of central bank policy decisions, with key inputs expected from the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, and the Bank of Japan.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average maintained its rally, advancing 0.52%, making for the index’s longest winning streak in six years.

The S&P 500 edged up 0.4%, while the Nasdaq Composite eked out a 0.19% gain.

Beeks

Beeks Financial Cloud Group, the Glasgow-based cloud computing and connectivity provider for financial markets, has signed contracts worth more than $4 million. These include a significant win, via a partner, with one of the UK’s largest banks.

The two exchange cloud contracts signed to date have the ability for considerable expansion, and the company says it has a pipeline of additional such opportunities which, while they may take time to progress to signing, have the potential to be transformational.

Gordon McArthur, CEO at Beeks (pictured), said: “The global financial services industry continues to move to cloud computing, presenting us with a considerable opportunity.

“With a growing number of the world’s largest financial institutions as customers, recognition of the value of our cloud offerings is increasing and we remain focused on the conversion of our sales pipeline.”

Vodafone

Vodafone has reported first-quarter group service revenue growth of 3.7%, driven by a strong performance in Britain, and an improvement in the rate of decline in Germany, Italy and Spain.

The European and African telecoms group also said it had appointed former SAP chief financial officer Luka Mucic to the same role at Vodafone, beginning on 1 September.