Shares in Play drop nearly 17% after company’s disappointing performance announcement in Iceland

Shares in Play have dropped nearly 17% in value today following the company’s announcement that its performance for the first half of the year was worse than initially projected. The company declared that its earlier earnings forecast has been withdrawn, indicating it will not break even as expected but will instead incur losses.

Play revealed this reassessment after market close yesterday, with official results for the first six months of the year set to be released on Thursday. Preliminary findings indicate that instead of achieving a break-even point, the company will be operating at a loss, although it has projected that this year’s results will be better than last year’s loss of nearly five billion Icelandic króna.

The stock price fell further as trading commenced today, dropping below 2, with midday transactions reflecting an 18% decrease from yesterday’s close. Although there was a slight recovery in share values by early afternoon, prices were still down by over 16% from the previous day.

Both Play and Icelandair reported losses in the first half of the year, with Icelandair losing nearly ten billion króna and Play nearly three billion, despite achieving record-high revenues for the company. In light of the challenging operational landscape for airlines, Play stated that this makes forward-looking profitability predictions difficult.

Requests for an interview with Play’s CEO were declined, as he plans to withhold public statements until the half-year financial report is presented on Thursday.