Etihad Airways on Thursday reported its most successful first quarter to date, with revenues up 21.2 percent to US $770 million (Q1 2010: US $635 million), attributable to strong performances in both passenger and cargo traffic. Coupled with a 5.9 percent reduction in costs per available seat kilometre, this delivered positive EBITDAR (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and rentals) in the quarter for the first time.
The results mark continued progress towards the airline's goal of break-even in 2011 and profitability in 2012. Passenger revenues rose 15 percent on the back of a 10.6 percent growth in passenger numbers, to 1,854,392. Seat factor fell slightly to 72.7 percent (Q1 2010: 75.1 percent) due to the impact of Middle East unrest and the Japanese earthquake.
James Hogan. Etihad Airways' Chief Executive Officer, said: "I am pleased to report more positive progress on our journey towards break-even and profitability. Our revenues continue to grow faster than our passenger numbers and, thanks to our robust cost controls, we are seeing a real benefit in our overall performance. This marks the first time we have delivered positive EBITDAR in Q1".
Hogan said the airline remained cautiously positive about the future: "Subject to the state of the overall global economy, we believe we are well positioned to continue our journey to profitability. Fuel prices will be a major challenge for the airline industry this year but I am glad to report that Etihad has hedged more than 75 percent of its fuel requirements for 2011.-PR
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