Air NZ expects earnings to double in 2013.
Air New Zealand has just released its figures for the year to 30 Jun, with a statutory after-tax result of NZ$71 million, down about 12% on the previous 12 months.
However the company was upbeat about its prospects, with “normalised earnings before taxation” (excluding hedging) up 21% to $91 million, and a forecast of significantly improved financial performance for next year.
“We have come through some tough times and the worst impacts of natrual disasters like the Christchurch earthquake and tsunami in Japan are behind us, which means growth opportunities are no longer suppressed,” said chairman John Palmer.
“We view the future with optimism and are pursuing a clear strategy to strengthen our Australasian operations, while being ahead of target in restructuring our international long haul network to improve financial performance”.
The board has declared a 3.5c per share final dividend, and outgoing ceo Rob Fyfe said Air NZ had delivered the “most consistent and best relative financial performance of any Australasian airline over the past three years”.
Operating revenue rose 3% to NZ$4.483 billion and passenger numbers were static at 13.1 million, with the overall passenger load factor being 82.8%, down 0.6 points.
More information in today’s Travel Daily.