SAS Group pax up 10% to 1.9m in Jan-2017, preliminary yield declines

SAS Group reported (07-Feb-2017) the following traffic highlights for Jan-2017:

• Passenger numbers: 1.9 million, +9.8% year-on-year;
• Passenger load factor: 69.0%, +5.3 ppts;
• Preliminary yield: -6%;
• Preliminary passenger revenue per ASK: +2%. [more - original PR]

SAS: "Although the demand is growing, the operating environment is more challenging, with the yield at historically low levels. One driver for the declining yield is the introduced aviation tax in Norway. In addition, jet fuel prices have increased versus last year combined with an unfavorable USD development versus the SEK, which will have a significant negative impact on SAS's earnings during the first quarter of the fiscal year 2016/2017." Source: Company statement, 07-Feb-2017.