AirFrance is back in profit
AIRFRANCE-KLM returned to quarterly profit yesterday, thanks to a €1.34bn (£1.1bn) gain from its stake in newly-listed travel booking firm Amadeus.
Europe’s biggest airline reported a net profit for the three months to the end of June of €736m, compared to a loss of €426m in the same period a year ago.
Operating profit remained in the red, with a loss of €132m in the quarter, though the result was better than analysts’ predictions. The Franco-Dutch group posted its worst annual performance for 15 years in May, reporting a €1.56bn loss.
The airline group said it would have made a marginal profit without April’s travel chaos caused by volcanic ash. The firm also saw a faster-than-expected upswing in cargo transport. Revenue rose 10.7 per cent to €5.72bn, also ahead of analyst expectations, which the firm credited to strong recovery in both passenger and cargo traffic. The firm reiterated its target to break even at the core operating level in 2010-11 but did not mention whether this excluded the impact of pre-2009 fuel hedges — a proviso included in its last earnings report in May.