Air Astana reports better than expected performance in 1H2016

Air Astana president and CEO Peter Foster announced (20-Jul-2016) the carrier reported a better than expected first half with an operating profit of USD1.0 million but a net loss of USD6.6 million in 1H2016. Revenue fell 30% year-on-year to USD275 million, driven by a "significant" devaluation of the Kazakh Tenge and by weaker regional travel markets in the wake of commodity price declines. Passenger numbers fell 7% to 1.7 million. Mr Foster explained: "we have been able to compensate to a large extent for a steep drop in revenue, particularly on domestic routes, by further reducing unit cost and by substantially increasing international transit traffic between Europe and Asia." Looking ahead, he said the outlook remain uncertain, adding: "there are signs that regional economies are adjusting to structurally lower commodity prices. Further development of transit business over our Astana and Almaty hubs continues to be a priority." [more - original PR]