Icelandair Group returns good second quarter results

31-Jul-2013

• Profit after taxes USD 18.5 million, as compared to USD 14.3 million last year
• EBITDA USD 42.9 million, as compared to USD 28.8 million last year
• Total revenue increased by 13%
• Equity ratio 32% at the end of June
• Net cash provided by operating activities USD 106.4 million, as compared to USD 72.2 million in the preceding year

Björgólfur Jóhannsson, President and CEO:

"Icelandair Group's second quarter results were good and improved between years. Profit after taxes amounted to USD 18.5 million, up by USD 4.2 million from last year. The Group's international flight operations continue to perform well. Capacity on international flights was increased by 17% between years, bringing passenger numbers over the quarter to 609 thousand. The greatest increase in capacity was on the North Atlantic routes, where the increase in passenger numbers was also greatest, at 22%.

The Icelandic tourist industry has benefited from the increase in the number of tourists visiting Iceland, which is approaching record heights. The Group's freight operations have been improving, with the increased emphasis on freight in scheduled air services giving good results.

At the beginning of the year we issued an EBITDA forecast for 2013 in the range of USD 115-120 million; this forecast was increased to USD 122-127 million on the posting of the interim report for the first quarter. Over the first six months of the year operations have been successful and external trends have also favoured the Company. Fuel prices have been lower than assumed in the Company's forecasts, and the trends in currency prices have also been positive compared to the assump­tions in the Company's forecasts. The booking situation for the second half of the year is good, and based on current assumptions EBITDA is now projected in the range of USD 140-145 million."