Austrian Airlines (AUA) has largely overcome the corona-related crisis and ended the 2022 financial year with a significantly better result: the airline achieved an EBIT adjusted for special effects of EUR 3 million. For 2021, Austrian Airlines still reported minus EUR 249 million. Without the special effect, EBIT would be minus 2 million in 2022, after minus 238 million in the previous year, according to a company press release.
“Even 2022 was not an easy year for us. In the first quarter of the year, air traffic was still very restricted in many places due to entry requirements. In February, with a war on our doorstep, spending on fuel and energy skyrocketed,” said AUA CEO Annette Mann . After a weak first quarter, the airline achieved higher average ticket revenues and a significant increase in passenger numbers to 11.1 million people. In the previous year, the airline had only 5 million passengers.
AUA was able to grow particularly strongly in the second half of 2022: it booked 7 million passengers. For comparison: In the second half of 2019 – i.e. before the corona pandemic – it carried around 8 million passengers. In addition, AUA was able to almost double the number of seat kilometers offered from 11.3 billion to 21.7 billion for the year as a whole, with the occupancy rate almost reaching 79.4 percent, the figure for 2019 (80.8 percent).
In the previous year, AUA increased sales by 152 percent to EUR 1.871 billion, which was only 11 percent below sales from 2019. Total revenues also increased by 152 percent to EUR 1.949 billion, and total expenses by 90 percent to EUR 1.946 billion. Euro. For the first time since 2019, this results in a positive operating result adjusted for special effects (Adjusted EBIT) of EUR 3 million.
Record earnings in the third quarter enabled the early repayment of the state-backed loan that was taken out due to the corona pandemic, the AUA also announced. The airline refers to the positive liquidity development and a credit line from the Lufthansa Group. This made it possible to repay the remaining EUR 210 million of the total loan of EUR 300 million early. But the salary waiver negotiated with the employees in 2020 was also ended prematurely at the end of the year. In addition, all employees received a cost-of-living bonus of up to 3,000 euros.
Austrian Airlines had to downsize in 2020 due to the crisis, but recently it was able to increase slightly again. Since October 2022, it has had two out of four new Airbus A320neos. But the staff has also been increased again.
The current bookings and the further fleet growth would set the course for a successful year 2023. “We expect a significant improvement in earnings for 2023,” announced Mann.