Past three quarters: Air Mauritius triples profits to Rs 1.12 billion

The national carrier, Air Mauritius, tripled its profits for the first nine months of the year ending last December. They went from 7.1 million euros (about Rs 277 million) to 28.7 million euros (about Rs 1.12 billion) for the group. At the company level, profits increased by 6.4 million euros (about Rs 250 million) to 28.1 million euros (about Rs 1.1 billion).

The number of passengers carried increased by 8.4% to a record level of 1.2 million during the three quarters compared to 1.1 million in the corresponding periods of the previous year. The number of seats offered was up by 6.7%. The average load factor, which indicates the percentage of capacity of an actual appliance in relation to available capacity, increased from 78.9% to 80.8%.

“The drop in yield of 6%, a widespread global trend, mitigates the magnitude of these positive results, reflecting the challenges posed by overcapacity, tough competition and economic problems in a number of markets,” said the management in a corporate filing.

The company’s operating income increased by 2% to € 375.9 million (about Rs 14.7 billion) while operating costs fell by 2.2% to € 340.4 million (about Rs 13.3 billion) mainly due to lower fuel prices and “better cost management at all levels during the nine months of the year.”

Tough competition

The total shareholders’ equity of the company increased by € 82.5 million (about Rs 3.2 billion) at the end of March 2016 to € 117.7 million (about Rs 4.7 billion) at the end of December. As a result, net value per share is set at € 1.15 (Rs 43.91) in December compared with € 0.81 (Rs 32.37) last March.

“Competition is extremely fierce, cruel even, with many challenges: fuel prices, volatile exchange rates and constantly changing markets.” The record results announced - even if the final quarter looks very difficult - The work begun by the Board of Directors, in conjunction with Management and all the teams, in the framework of the new governance structures, has made it possible to restore the bar in spite of the many challenges. “Financial restructuring, especially through rigorous cost management, was a prerequisite for projecting into the future,” said management.

It is preparing strongly for the arrival of two new Airbus A350-900 at the end of the year. “This will project our fleet into the next generation of aircraft and allow us to take a quantum leap in customer comfort and economic performance, so we introduce new seats, a new entertainment system and for the first time, the latest state-of-the-art internet connectivity on board. The eighteen month project is expected to be completed by the end of June 2018. These heavy investments are necessary in view of our customers’ expectations and to strengthen our status as the leading company in the region,” said an official source of Air Mauritius.