Finnair Plc Interim Report 29 October 2024 at 9:00 a.m. EET
Quarter's comparable EBIT fell short of the strong comparison period due to lower unit revenue. Full-year profit expectation unchanged.
July - September 2024
- Revenue increased by 0.1 per cent to 818.3 million euros (817.3*).
- Unit revenue (RASK) decreased by 8.2 per cent and totalled 8.03 cents (8.75).
- Unit cost (CASK) decreased by 5.3 per cent and totalled 7.32 cents (7.74).
- Comparable operating result was 71.5 million euros (94.3) and operating result was 76.7 million euros (90.0).
- Earnings per share were 0.28 euros (0.51**).
- Cash funds were 908.3 million euros (31 Dec 2023: 922.0).
- The equity ratio was 16.1 per cent (31 Dec 2023: 15.6).
- Net cash flow from operating activities was 98.9 million euros (95.5), and net cash flow from investing activities was -43.5 million euros (45.1).*** Gross capital expenditure totalled 49.9 million euros (73.2).
- Number of passengers increased by 9.4 per cent to 3.2 million (3.0).
- Available seat kilometres (ASK) increased by 9.1 per cent to 10,194.9 million kilometres (9,343.9). When wet leases are included, ASKs increased by 11.1 per cent.
- Passenger load factor (PLF) decreased by 1.4 percentage points to 79.5 per cent (80.9).
January - September 2024
- Revenue increased by 0.2 per cent to 2,265.9 million euros (2,261.3*).
- Unit revenue (RASK) decreased by 6.1 per cent and totalled 7.84 cents (8.34).
- Unit cost (CASK) decreased by 3.5 per cent and totalled 7.48 cents (7.75).
- Comparable operating result was 103.5 million euros (161.4) and operating result was 102.1 million euros (164.1).
- Earnings per share were 0.22 euros (1.94**).
- Net cash flow from operating activities was 411.0 million euros (478.1), and net cash flow from investing activities was -111.1 million euros (-286.3).*** Gross capital expenditure totalled 143.0 million euros (215.6).
- Number of passengers increased by 4.6 per cent to 8.8 million (8.4).
- Available seat kilometres (ASK) increased by 6.7 per cent to 28,917.6 million kilometres (27,106.9). When wet leases are included, ASKs increased by 7.7 per cent.
- Passenger load factor (PLF) decreased by 1.9 percentage points to 75.6 per cent (77.5).
* Unless otherwise stated, comparisons and figures in parentheses refer to the comparison period, i.e., the same period last year.
** A rights issue was implemented in November 2023 and, thus, the comparison period figure has been restated accordingly. On 20 March 2024, Finnair executed a reverse split, i.e. the reduction of the number of shares where every 100 old shares in the company corresponds to one new share.
*** In Q3, net cash flow from investing activities included 16.6 million euros of investments (63.2 million euros of redemptions) in money market funds or other financial assets (maturity over three months). In Q1-Q3, the investments totalled 16.0 million euros (128.6 million euros of investments). They are a part of the Group's liquidity management.
Outlook
Guidance issued on 19 july 2024:
Global air traffic is expected to continue growing in 2024. However, risks related to the impact of inflation and higher interest rates on demand and costs remain elevated, causing uncertainty in the operating environment. International conflicts and global political instability also cause uncertainty in the operating environment. These factors may affect the demand for air travel and cargo.
Finnair reiterates its previous guidance and plans to increase its total capacity, measured by ASKs, by c. 10 per cent in 2024. The capacity estimate includes the agreed wet leases. This growth will mainly focus on Asia and Europe.
Finnair now estimates that its revenue in 2024 will be within the range of 3.0-3.2 billion euros. The company also estimates that its comparable EBIT will be within the range of 110-180 million euros in 2024.
Finnair will update its outlook and guidance in connection with the 2024 third quarter interim report published in October.
New guidance on 29 october 2024:
Global air traffic is expected to continue growing in 2024. However, risks related to the impact of inflation and higher interest rates on demand and costs remain elevated, causing uncertainty in the operating environment. International conflicts and global political instability also cause uncertainty in the operating environment, particularly in the form of fuel price volatility.
Finnair reiterates its previous guidance and plans to increase its total capacity, measured by ASKs, by c. 10 per cent in 2024. The capacity estimate includes the agreed wet leases. This growth will mainly focus on Asia and Europe.
Finnair reiterates that its revenue in 2024 will be within the range of 3.0-3.2 billion euros. The company specifies its previous estimate and now expects its comparable EBIT will be within the range of 120-170 million euros in 2024.
Finnair will update its outlook and guidance in connection with the financial statements bulletin for 2024.
CEO Turkka Kuusisto:
3.2 million customers travelled on our flights during the third quarter, an increase of 9.4 per cent year-on-year. We increased our own capacity by 9.1 per cent year-on-year by returning leased out narrow-body aircraft to our own use. Our comparable operating result was 71.5 million euros (94.3), down from the strong comparison period as unit revenue decreased due to normalising demand.
Our passenger revenue decreased year-on-year in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, but increased in North American traffic. Ancillary revenue increased by 25.7 per cent and cargo revenue by 28.8 per cent.
Our unit cost excluding fuel costs decreased by 4.2 per cent, demonstrating successful cost management in a situation where our network traffic charges, including navigation fees, increased clearly more than our capacity. Cost control and continuous improvement continue to play an important role in securing our competitiveness.
Our strong operating cash flow (98.9 million euros) during the quarter as well as our result for the period (57.4 million euros) continued to support the strengthening of our balance sheet. We have now repaid all the loans we took out during the double crisis.
We have updated our climate target, and our new, science-based target is to reduce our emission intensity (CO2e/RTK) by 34.5% by 2033 compared to 2023. The target has been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). The means to achieve this goal are increasing the use of sustainable aviation fuel well above the amount required by legislation, improving operational efficiency, optimising the network and investing in new aircraft technology.
Our customer satisfaction measured by Net Promoter Score was 40, developing positively with the opening of our new Schengen lounge in July and smaller product renewals. Customer satisfaction was also supported by our on-time-performance, which was 77 per cent, even though airspace restrictions affected our flight times to some extent. We aim to further strengthen our on-time-performance through close collaboration with our partners. We also continue to invest in customer experience, next renewing the cabins of the Embraer aircraft we use in European traffic. The organisational changes announced in September further strengthen our focus on customer experience and understanding customer needs.
During the current winter season, we fly to 85 destinations, with increased frequencies to London and Phuket, among others. Our cooperation with Qatar Airways on flights between Stockholm and Copenhagen and Doha will end in its current form in mid-January, and the A330 aircraft on these routes will return to Finnair's own traffic as the cooperation continues as codeshare cooperation.
I would like to warmly thank all our customers for their trust in us during the busiest travel season of the year. Sincere thanks are also due to all Finnair employees and our partners for their committed work for safe and smooth journeys for our customers.
Financial reporting in 2025
The publication dates of Finnair's financial reports in 2025 are the following:
- Financial statements bulletin for 2024 on Thursday 13 February 2025
- Interim Report for January-March 2025 on Tuesday 29 April 2025
- Half-year Report for January-June 2025 on Wednesday 16 July 2025
- Interim Report for January-September 2025 on Thursday 30 October 2025
This text is a summary of Finnair's Interim Report January - September 2024. The full report is available as an attachment to this report.
FINNAIR PLC
Board of Directors
Briefings
Finnair will hold a results press conference (in Finnish) on 29 October 2024 at 11:00 a.m. Finnish time at its office at Tietotie 9 in Vantaa. It is also possible to participate in the press conference via a live webcast at https://finnairgroup.videosync.fi/2024-10-29-media.
An English-language telephone conference and webcast will begin on 29 October 2024 at 1:00 p.m. Finnish time. To access the conference, kindly first register at https://palvelu.flik.fi/teleconference/?id=50048503. After the registration, you will be provided with phone numbers and a conference ID. To join the live webcast, please register at https://finnairgroup.videosync.fi/q3-2024.
For further information, please contact:
Chief Financial Officer Kristian Pullola, tel. +358 9 818 4960, kristian.pullola@finnair.com
Head of Investor Relations Erkka Salonen, tel. +358 9 818 5101, erkka.salonen@finnair.com
FINNAIR PLC
Further information:
Finnair communications, 358 9 818 4020, comms@finnair.com
Distribution:
NASDAQ OMX Helsinki
Principal media
Finnair is a network airline, specialising in connecting passenger and cargo traffic between Asia, the Middle East, North America and Europe. Finnair is the only airline with year-round direct flights to Lapland. Customers have chosen Finnair as the Best Airline in Northern Europe in the Skytrax Awards for 14 times in a row. Finnair is a member of the oneworld alliance. Finnair Plc's shares are quoted on Nasdaq Helsinki.
