Japan's All Nippon Airways (ANA) said on Thursday (Oct 30) its half-year net profit soared 78 per cent as an expansion of one of Tokyo's airports boosted the carrier's international business. The airline earned ¥35.77 billion (US$328 million) against a ¥20.07 billion net profit a year earlier, while April-September sales rose 9.1 per cent to ¥854.82 billion, it said.
ANA increased its international services after a major development of Tokyo's downtown Haneda Airport, which it said helped offset a jump in operating expenses that mainly came from higher fuel costs. A sharp decline in the yen has sent the price of fuel - often an airline's single-biggest expense - surging for ANA and rival Japan Airlines (JAL), which reports its earnings on Friday.
Operating profit for the first half year rose 33 per cent to ¥57.94 billion, ANA said, while it also booked a one-off profit of ¥9.9 billion after changing the structure of its corporate pension scheme. For the full-year to March, the airline kept its estimate of a ¥35 billion net profit on sales of ¥1.7 trillion.
ANA has enjoyed improved fortunes after Haneda, which is much closer to the capital than rival Narita airport, increased capacity to handle more international flights. The airline has added services to major cities including London, Paris, Munich and Jakarta. ANA said its international business saw strong demand, while on the domestic side more flexible price-setting and a fare rise this summer boosted sales.
ANA and rival Japan Airlines (JAL) are increasing their use of the lighter weight Boeing Dreamliner to contain costs, but the fuel-efficient aircraft has been hit by a series of technical problems that forced a months-long grounding last year.
"Competition inside and outside Japan is expected to intensify, in addition to various risks such as fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, slowing of foreign economies and other international event risks," it said "We will proceed with multiplying our businesses, and reform our cost structure to maximise our group's profitability."
In contrast, smaller domestic rival Skymark Airlines booked a net loss of ¥5.74 billion in the April-September period, against a profit of ¥1.70 billion a year earlier. It also warned of a full-year net loss of ¥13.68 billion, against a previous forecast of a ¥354 million profit.
The carrier was born out of deregulation measures in the 1990s that were aimed at challenging ANA and JAL's control of the market. However Skymark has been seen ballooning losses owing to new entrants into the budget sector. The struggling airline was sideswiped when Airbus in July said it had cancelled its US$2.2-billion jet order, apparently over concerns about payment.
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