AFP, Tokyo :
Japanese airline ANA on Friday posted record profits, while the bottom line worsened for rival JAL, and both carriers said they expected higher costs to eat into this year’s earnings.
ANA Holdings reported its largest-ever net profit of 143.9 billion yen ($1.3 billion) for the year that ended in March, up 45.6 percent from the previous year.
It was the third consecutive year that ANA has posted record profits.
Strong earnings were “underpinned by robust demand, strong performance in international passenger services and international cargo services, and the addition of revenue from (budget carrier) Peach Aviation Ltd,” ANA Holdings said in a statement.
Operating profit rose 13.0 percent to 164.5 billion yen as revenue grew 11.7 percent to 1.97 trillion yen.
For the current year to March 2019, however, ANA expects its net profit to slip 29 percent to 102 billion yen, and it forecast operating profit would stay almost flat at 165 billion yen, missing the lowest analyst estimate of 167 billion yen in a Bloomberg survey.
Revenue was projected to edge up three percent to two trillion yen.
But an ANA spokeswoman put a bullish spin on the forecast, dismissing views that the company’s earnings are in descent.
Japanese airline ANA on Friday posted record profits, while the bottom line worsened for rival JAL, and both carriers said they expected higher costs to eat into this year’s earnings.
ANA Holdings reported its largest-ever net profit of 143.9 billion yen ($1.3 billion) for the year that ended in March, up 45.6 percent from the previous year.
It was the third consecutive year that ANA has posted record profits.
Strong earnings were “underpinned by robust demand, strong performance in international passenger services and international cargo services, and the addition of revenue from (budget carrier) Peach Aviation Ltd,” ANA Holdings said in a statement.
Operating profit rose 13.0 percent to 164.5 billion yen as revenue grew 11.7 percent to 1.97 trillion yen.
For the current year to March 2019, however, ANA expects its net profit to slip 29 percent to 102 billion yen, and it forecast operating profit would stay almost flat at 165 billion yen, missing the lowest analyst estimate of 167 billion yen in a Bloomberg survey.
Revenue was projected to edge up three percent to two trillion yen.
But an ANA spokeswoman put a bullish spin on the forecast, dismissing views that the company’s earnings are in descent.
