Thursday, August 30, 2012

Air China H1 earnings in "free-fall" compared to last years H1 report

Air China (CA) has reported a first-half net profit of CNY945 million ($149 million), down 76.7% over a net income of CNY4.056 billion for the year-ago period, mainly due to weak cargo demand and high fuel prices.

The Beijing-based carrier also cited the global economic downturn, slowdown of market demand and increased market competition for the decline.

Operating revenue rose 3.82% to CNY47.33 billion against a 7.6% increase in operating expenses to CNY44.75 billion. Fuel costs were up 9.6% to CNY17.81 billion year-over-year.

Passenger boardings increased 3.26% to 34.8 million. The average load factor was 80.04%, down 0.71 points. RPKs grew 4.8% to 62.34 billion while ASKs increased 5.72%.

Cargo traffic volume declined 5.63% to 664,600 tonnes. RFTKs dropped 5.67% to 2.26 billion against a decrease of 1.29% in AFTKs to 3.98 billion.

In the first half, CA took delivery of 23 aircraft and phased out 14 units. As of June 30, the carrier’s fleet was 441 aircraft.

“Looking into the second half of this year, fuel prices will continue to impact the financial performance of airline industry. And fluctuation of exchange rates will also bring some uncertainties to us. For these reasons, we will maintain stable operations and seize marketing opportunities as well as deepen cooperation with Cathay Pacific Airways to achieve a better performance,” CA chairman Wang Changshun said in a statement.

(Katie Cantle - ATWOnline News)

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