Air Berlin reduces loss in the first quarter
In the first quarter of 2010, Air Berlin was able to increase the number of passengers welcomed on board to 6.2 million, i.e. an increase of 2.4 percent. Following the successful integration of the acquired TUIfly city routes and with demand for flights within Europe recovering, Air Berlin is once again on the path to growth. For the first quarter of 2010, despite the harsh winter, seasonal operating loss (EBIT) improved to EUR -98.6 million (Q1 2009: EUR -107.6 million, pro-forma). Based on the pro-forma income statement, Air Berlin's operational result and net result have improved over the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Revenue was adversely affected by airport closures related to the harsh winter conditions and decreased by 3.3 percent to EUR 690.9 million (Q1 2009: EUR 714.2 million).At 8.5 Eurocents, total revenue per passenger kilometer (RRPK) improved slightly. For the quarter under review, EBITDAR (Earnings before interest, leasing expenses, depreciation, amortization, interest and taxes) increased from EUR 30.2 million to EUR 44.1 million, i.e. an increase of 46 percent, despite the additional expenses related to the severe winter, including airport closures, airport taxes, navigation, de-icing and personnel. The diminished visibility resulting from exceptional snowfall prolonged the average flight duration by eight minutes which, in turn, increased kerosene consumption and led to a higher per flight cost. In total, the unusually harsh winter conditions resulted in additional costs for Air Berlin, in the two-digit million range.
The result from operating activities (EBIT) reached EUR -98.6 million, as compared to EUR -87.3 million in 2009 (pro-forma: EUR -107.6 million). Pre-tax earnings amounted to EUR -125.5 million (Q1 2009: EUR -118.6 million, pro-forma: EUR -139.0 million).
Net result for the first quarter of 2010 amounts to EUR -93.6 million, as compared to EUR -88.4 million in the first quarter of 2009 (pro-forma: EUR -108.9 million).
As Joachim Hunold, CEO Air Berlin, stated on Thursday: "Like other airline companies, Air Berlin has felt the economic consequences of the exceptionally harsh winter. Nevertheless, our company managed to improve earnings. We are currently experiencing an increase in demand for intra-European flights on the network which Air Berlin has expanded via the integration of the TUIfly connections."
As a result of the 5 percent increase in capacity, the load factor declined to 70.8 percent (-0.8 percent). For the reporting period, revenue per available seat kilometer (RASK) decreased slightly to 6.0 Eurocents, i.e. by 0.7 percent (Q1 2009: 6.1 Eurocents). At the end of the first quarter of 2010, the number of corporate agreements amounted to 1,276. In the meantime, the "business points" program for small and medium-sized enterprises, which was initiated in March, is already being used by 1,800 companies.
For the quarter under review, Air Berlin was able to decrease corporate expenditures to EUR 793.6 million, i.e. by 4 percent (Q1 2009: EUR 826.7 million). In addition to the relief provided by lower fuel cost, Air Berlin's efforts to reduce cost and increase efficiency continue to bear fruit. Due to the growth of Air Berlin's fleet, fleet expenditures for the first quarter of 2010 increased to EUR 142.7 million, i.e. an increase of 3.5 percent over the corresponding quarter of the previous year (Q1 2009: EUR 137.8 million).
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19.05.2010