Finnair takes profit hit from flight delays

(Reuters) - Finland's national carrier Finnair reported a steeper than expected drop in second-quarter operating profit on Friday, as flight delays due to bad weather and a runway renovation in Helsinki drove up costs.

Finnair's shares were down 11% by 0908 GMT, the biggest faller on the Helsinki stock exchange, as it also flagged lower yields and passenger load factor in the quarter.

The airline, which is majority owned by the Finnish state, posted a comparable operating profit of 43.6 million euros ($47.45 million) for the quarter, versus 66.2 million a year earlier and analysts' forecast of 62 million in an LSEG poll.

"Runway renovation at Helsinki Airport in April–June impacted negatively our on-time performance and increased costs in the form of re-routing customers to their connecting flights," CEO Turkka Kuusisto said in a statement.

Challenging weather conditions also delayed flights and increased costs, Finnair said.

"April was hit by an exceptional winter weather, which affected the on-time performance," Kuusisto told Reuters in an interview.

The Finnish flag carrier also specified its full-year outlook, forecasting a revenue of 3.0 billion to 3.2 billion euros and a comparable operating profit of 110 million to 180 million euros for 2024.

It had previously said it expected the annual revenue to grow at a slower pace than its capacity, which it plans to increase by around 10% this year.

Finnair in April paused flights to Tartu in eastern Estonia for one month due to GPS disturbances in the area that had prevented two aircraft from landing.

"GPS jamming is a big topic in the headlines but does not affect air traffic in practice. Flying is safe even if GPS gets disturbed, as modern airplanes have many navigation systems," Kuusisto said.

($1 = 0.9189 euros)

(Reporting by Elviira Luoma in Gdansk; editing by Milla Nissi)