Aer Lingus remains in the red in 1Q2012

Aer Lingus revenue up 15% - financial highlights for three months ended 31-Mar-2012:

• Total revenue: EUR251.5 million, +15.4% year-on-year;
  • Passenger: EUR239.2 million, +15.6%;
    • Short-haul: EUR148.9 million, +12.6%;
    • Long-haul: EUR52.7 million, +24.6%;
    • Retail: EUR37.6 million, +15.7%;
• Total operating costs: EUR287.6 million, +5.9%;
  • Fuel: EUR68.6 million, +31.4%;
  • Labour: EUR65.0 million, +6.4%;
• Operating profit (loss) after exceptional items: (EUR36.1 million), compared to a loss of EUR55.9 million in p-c-p;
• Passenger numbers: 1.9 million, +6.6%;
  • Short-haul: 1.7 million, +6.1%;
  • Long-haul: 167,000, +12.1%;
• Passenger load factor: 68.7%, +2.1 ppts;
  • Short-haul: 68.0%, +2.0 ppts;
  • Long-haul: 70.3%, +2.3 ppts;
• Average fare: EUR106.16, +8.4%;
  • Short-haul: EUR85.97, +6.1%;
  • Long-haul: EUR315.57, +11.2%;
• Gross cash: EUR1002 million;
• Gross debt: EUR21.1 million. [more - original PR]

Aer Lingus: "At present, we have limited visibility over booking patterns for the second half of 2012. However, Aer Lingus now shares the more upbeat view on industry trends expressed in IATA's April 2012 airline business confidence survey. If current trends continue, Aer Lingus' operating profit for 2012 should match that achieved in 2011. However, the performance of certain short haul routes is weaker than expected and the Group's business continues to be subject to inflationary cost pressures. Management remain focused on the Group's cost base and will continue to explore measures to protect Aer Lingus' profitability for the remainder of 2012 and beyond," Company statement, 03-May-2012.