Business News

Aer Lingus Q3 operating profit up 19% to €112.9m

By Business & Finance
05 November 2014

Aer Lingus today announced its results for the period July 1st to September 30th 2014, representing the third quarter of the company’s 2014 financial year.

The airline delivered its strongest Q3 result since the financial crisis recording an operating profit of €112.9m up from €94.9m in 2013.

Total revenue for the third quarter was up 13.9% year-on-year to €531.1m driven by a strong short haul performance and the continued success of Aer Lingus transatlantic capacity expansion.

The recovery in short haul revenue, up 5.5%, was a highlight of Q3 with passenger volumes up 2.2% and average revenue per seat up 5.2%.

Long haul continued to perform strongly with fare revenues of €175.9m for the quarter, up 34% from €131.3m for Q3 2013.

For the three months ended September 30th 2014, Aer Lingus carried a total of over three million passengers, up 4.8% compared to 2013. Long haul routes recorded a 23.8% increase to 427,000 passengers while short haul passenger numbers were up 2.2% to 2.625 million.

Commenting on the Q3 performance Christoph Mueller, Aer Lingus’ CEO said: We are particularly pleased with Aer Lingus’ Q3 2014 performance. Our quarterly operating result of €112.9m, representing an operating margin of 21.3%, is 19.0% above prior year and is our highest Q3 operating result since the financial crisis.

“Aer Lingus’ short haul traded strongly in a tough environment, with revenue growth increasing by 5.5% in the quarter. This is a reflection of the inherent strength of our business model and the success of management actions taken to address the effects of industrial disruption in Q2 2014.

“In long haul, we carried nearly a quarter more passengers compared to last year while increasing our load factor and revenue per seat. We target further profitable growth of our long haul business into 2015. Our new Dublin to Washington service will be launched in May 2015 and services on existing transatlantic routes will be increased. This will provide even more connectivity for our passengers and strengthen Aer Lingus’ and Dublin’s position in traffic between Europe and North America.

“Assuming the current trading environment is maintained, management now expect that Aer Lingus’ full year 2014 operating profit, before exceptional items, will be ahead of the 2013 operating result (i.e. €61.1m).”