Moscow - Aeroflot Group (“the Group”, Moscow Exchange ticker: AFLT) today publishes its condensed consolidated interim financial statements for the six months ended 30 June 2018, in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards.
Andrey Chikhanchin, PJSC Aeroflot’s Deputy CEO for Commerce and Finance, said:
“In 2018, Aeroflot Group has continued to deliver operational growth, expanding the geographical coverage of its network and adding capacity on routes where we have seen the highest demand. The growth rate of passenger numbers in the second quarter accelerated to 9.6% year-on-year from 6.6% year-on-year in the first quarter, bringing the total increase for the first half to 8.2%, for a total of 24.9 million passengers. Traffic growth accelerated while we maintained a positive trend in yields, which increased by 8.6% year-on-year in the second quarter, compared to an increase of 3.6% year-on-year in the first quarter. Revenue from passenger traffic improved as a result, reaching RUB 135.5 billion in the second quarter, a 19.2% increase year-on-year, and 8.1 p.p. faster than the growth seen in the first quarter. The uptick in revenue was supported by the Company’s proactive approach to revenue management – including tactical optimisation through capacity and load factor management – as well as currency effects and increased demand for flights during the group stage of the World Cup in June.
“Nonetheless, revenue grew at a slower pace than costs. The key factor affecting operating costs was growth in aviation fuel prices, which increased by almost 30% year-on-year in the first half of 2018 with acceleration of growth during second quarter. In this context, management approved an extensive programme to mitigate external impact on the Company’s financial results, including initiatives on both the revenue and cost side. The programme has already had an effect on the costs side; excluding fuel, CASK increased by just 1.5% in the first half of 2018, and fell by 1.1% in the second quarter despite growing currency pressures on FX-denominated cost items, as well as increasing airport fees. We have also seen significant economies on SG&A expenses. At the CASK level, we have also seen economies on personnel costs, which reflects our efforts to maintain high labour productivity.
“As a result of active revenue management and implementation of cost-management initiatives, Aeroflot Group in the second quarter recorded a net profit of RUB 6.3 billion. The financial result for the second quarter partially mitigated the loss for the first quarter, and reduced the overall loss for the first half to RUB 5.2 billion. Aeroflot Group intends to maintain strict control and optimizationof costs to support optimal financial results in the prevailing economic climate.”
Aeroflot Group financial highlights
| RUB million, unless stated otherwise | Q2 2018 | Q2 2017 | Change | 6M 2018 | 6M 2017 | Change |
| Revenue | 153,880 | 131,735 | 16.80% | 265,822 | 234860 | 13.20% |
| EBITDAR1 | 35,596 | 32,315 | 10.20% | 46,363 | 46057 | 0.70% |
| EBITDAR margin | 23.10% | 24.50% | (1.4 p.p.) | 17.40% | 19.60% | (2.2 p.p.) |
| EBITDA1 | 14,354 | 16,539 | (13.2%) | 6,622 | 15403 | (57.0%) |
| EBITDA margin | 9.30% | 12.60% | (3.3 p.p.) | 2.50% | 6.60% | (4.1 p.p.) |
| Profit / (loss) for the period | 6,315 | 8,229 | (23.3%) | (5,228) | 2890 | - |
