Finnair reports strong growth and profitability in the busiest quarter of the year.

Europe's leading outsourcing airline Finnair has reported strong growth and profitability during what it terms as the busiest quarter of the year. The financially constrained carrier saw 3 million passengers and had a passenger load factor of 81% during the period. The airline's revenue grew by 13.7% year-on-year to €817 million and the comparable operating profit was €94 million euros, equaling a comparable EBIT margin of 11.5%.  The net result was also positive for the fourth consecutive time, this time €53 million euros.

July – September 2023                                 

• Earnings per share were 0.03 euros (-0.03)*.
• Revenue increased by 13.7% to 817.3 million euros (719.2).
• The comparable operating result was 94.3 million euros (35.2) and the operating result was 90.0 million euros (19.2). Both were adversely impacted by the more expensive fuel price towards the end of the period.
• Cash funds were 1,346.3 million euros (31 Dec 2022: 1 524.4) and they decreased mainly due to the 200-million-euro hybrid bond redemption during the period. The equity ratio was 11.5 per cent (31 Dec 2022: 9.9).
• Net cash flow from operating activities was 95.5 million euros (11.8), and net cash flow from investing activities was 45.1 million euros (-0.4).** Gross capital expenditure totalled 73.2 million euros (37.5).
• Number of passengers increased by 6.6% to 3.0 million (2.8).
• Available seat kilometres (ASK) increased by 11.8% to 9,343.9 million kilometres (8,356.5).
• Passenger load factor (PLF) was 80.9% (80.1).

January – September 2023                           

• Basic earnings per share were 0.12 euros (-0.39).
• Result for the period included a positive, one-off deferred tax item of 99 million euros based on previous years’ tax losses.
• Revenue increased by 35.5% to 2,261.3 million euros (1,669.3).
• Comparable operating result was 161.4 million euros (-181.8) and operating result was 164.1 million euros (-238.6). Both were adversely impacted by the more expensive fuel price towards the end of the period.
• Net cash flow from operating activities was 478.1 million euros (229.1), and net cash flow from investing activities was -286.3 million euros (-21.2).** Gross capital expenditure totalled 209.4 million euros (137.8).
• The number of passengers increased by 26.0% to 8.4 million (6.6).
• Available seat kilometres (ASK) increased by 17.3% to 27,106.9 million kilometres (23,112.9).
• Passenger load factor (PLF) was 77.5% (65.9).

* Unless otherwise stated, comparisons and figures in parentheses refer to the comparison period, i.e., the same period last year.

** In Q3, net cash flow from investing activities included 63.2 million euros of redemptions (29.1 million euros) in money market funds or other financial assets (maturity over three months). In Q1–Q3, investments totalled to 128.6 million euros (26.1 million euros of redemptions). They are part of the Group’s liquidity management.

Finnair Group Interim Report 1 January – 30 September 2023

The airline's CEO Topi Manner issued the following statement:  "In July, the monthly number of customers exceeded one million for the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Operationally, we were well prepared for the busy travel season. Our on-time performance was 82 per cent. Punctuality is the single biggest factor affecting customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction measured by the Net Promoter Score was 31. Our customers rated Finnair as a five-star airline in APEX's airline assessment. This recognition shows the trust and support our customers have in us. Thanks for the good customer experience belong to the entire Finnair team, who work daily to ensure smooth and safe flight operations and friendly customer service.

During the quarter, we renewed the Finnair Plus programme and joined Avios, bringing new benefits and new opportunities for members to collect and use frequent flyer currency. We also announced that we are investing in new, larger lounges on the Schengen side of Helsinki Airport. The expanded lounges will be available in the second half of 2024 to serve the needs of a growing number of customers.

We are also hiring more staff for our growing traffic. Training for pilots recruited earlier this year is already underway, and we had thousands of applicants applying for cabin crew positions earlier this autumn. We are also strengthening resources in digital services and in airport customer service. The interest towards these positions shows that Finnair is an attractive employer, and we also received recognition for our attractiveness in Universum's survey.

Finnair Group Interim Report 1 January – 30 September 2023

After the review period, we announced that we are planning a rights issue of up to 600 million euros to strengthen our financial position. The offering is a natural next step in the implementation of our strategy. It aims to reduce Finnair's financing costs, support the strategy implementation for sustainable profitable growth and ensure the company's ability to invest in the future. With the rights issue, Finnair also aims to restore the company's ability to reinstate shareholder distributions. Finnair's largest shareholders, including the State of Finland, support the rights issue.

Next week we will celebrate Finnair's 100th anniversary. Finnair is the sixth oldest airline still in operation in the world. Reaching the age of one hundred is not a given for an airline, and, after the double crisis we have been going through, achieving it is particularly meaningful. A warm thank you for the long history and shared journey goes to all our customers, owners, partners, personnel and other stakeholders."

Finnair renews the cabins of its Embraer fleet

Finnair will renew the cabins of its Embraer aircraft in the coming years. The renewal gives the Embraer fleet a fresh and inviting interior with familiar elements from the previously redesigned Finnair long-haul aircraft cabins. 

“We want to improve travel comfort and provide our customers with a high-quality travel experience across our route network”, says Ole Orvér, Chief Commercial Officer for Finnair. “We will bring similar elements and feeling to our Embraer fleet as we have used in our previously redesigned Airbus wide-body aircraft”.  

 

The renewal will be implemented during 2024–2025. The first renewed aircraft are expected to operate at the end of 2024. 

Embraer jet engine aircraft flies to Finnair’s domestic and European destinations. The renewed Embraer aircraft has 100 seats and there are 12 aircraft in the Embraer fleet in total. Finnair flights with Embraer aircraft are operated for Finnair by Nordic Regional Airlines.