Graham Turner hits turbulence

Any entrepreneur who leads a public company knows that their fortune is subject to the vagaries of the giant lotto machine we call the sharemarket.

But spare a thought for Flight Centre founder and chief executive Graham Turner, who has watched his fortune shoot up and down more than most in the last four years.

Yesterday, Flight Centre’s stock fell 4.5% after the company announced its third profit warning in six months – not a good look in any market, but poison in this volatile environment.

The company’s acquisition of US-based travel agency Liberty Travel in November 2007 was, in hindsight, horribly timed. The collapse in the US economy has led to Liberty losing $60 million in the 2008-09 financial year.

The announcement and subsequent sharemarket slide means Turner’s stake in the business is worth $106.5 million. That’s way down from the start of 2008 (just after the Liberty acquisition) when Flight Centre stock was flying and Turner’s stake was worth $557 million.

Of course, Turner is likely to be taking these recent falls in his stride. Back in 2005, his stake was worth $344 million, but subsequently plunged to around $150 million.

Turner predicts the travel market will turn around towards the end of this year, with a recovery at the start of calendar 2010.

Like many entrepreneurs running publicly-listed companies, he will be hoping his fortune will recover around the same time.