Air Malta has managed to cut its loss in the second quarter by nearly €4 million, going €1.2 million better than projected.
We are cautiously optimistic we will be able to maintain this momentum and achieve our planned results at the end of the financial year
The national airline registered an operating loss of €6.1 million between April and June, when it had previously budgeted for a loss of €7.3 million.
The figure is also €3.9 million less than the loss it registered in the same period last year.
The airline said it was “particularly pleased ” with the result, which put it in line with the financial projections made in the Restructuring Plan accepted by the European Commission.
In June, the Commission approved the government’s five-year restructuring plan that will see €130 million in state aid injected into the troubled carrier.
The airline said that between April and June it carried 472,000 passengers and increased its passenger load factor by 2.6 per cent to 75 per cent.
Chief executive Peter Davies said the financial results the airline had achieved in the first three months of its new financial year continued to show that Air Malta was “on track”.
According to its plan, the airline is predicting an operating loss of €15 million by the end of this financial year, March 2013. It intends to achieve this by increasing revenue by €10 million as well as filling more seats on its aircraft.
This was one of the main revenue generators in the last financial year, contributing to the airline’s €7 million increase.
“We are cautiously optimistic that we will be able to maintain this momentum and achieve our planned results at the end of this financial year. This we can achieve, despite some setbacks that we need to manage, which include the OLT Express aircraft lease termination,” he said.
He continued: “We are working hard on a number of options to lease out this aircraft together with our cockpit crew as soon as possible to minimise the financial impact of this termination of lease.”
The airline plans to halve the €29.8 million operating loss it registered last year as it continues on its path to reaching breakeven by 2014 and profitability the year after.
The biggest setback the airline had last year was the increase in its fuel costs, which represent 30 per cent of its expenses.
A new policy on hedging saved the company €3.5 million last year.
Had it not been made, the company would be spending €10 million more on fuel this year.
Air Malta hedges between 75 and 80 per cent of its fuel requirements. It has hedged its fuel until winter 2013/2014 and is now in the process of hedging for summer 2014.
Earlier this month, Air Malta unveiled its new brand identity as part of a €1.9 million investment to revamp its corporate vision, a key aspect of the company’s restructuring plan.
World-renowned London-based branding company FutureBrand was commissioned to design the new logo.
The firm was also behind the marketing of the London 2012 Olympic Games.
The rebranding exercise aims to “win the hearts and minds of people” while promoting Malta rather than simply the airline.
The airline is planning to have six of its planes carrying the new logo by November.