AEGEAN: First Half 2015 Financial Results

AEGEAN announces first half 2015 results with consolidated revenue at €403.6m, 4% higher versus 2014. Total number of passengers carried rose by 15% to 5m as the company invested in new fleet and more capacity, increasing frequencies on existing routes as well as adding new international destinations.

International passenger traffic rose by 20%, with Athens base being the main driver with 26% growth. Passengers carried on the domestic network rose by 10%. Despite the uncertainty, revenue and passenger growth in the second quarter outpaced first quarter’s growth given the company’s investments.

Net profit after tax stood at €14.8m compared to €16m in 2014, as the stronger dollar, higher air navigation charges in Greece as well as lower fares, offset the benefit of lower fuel costs and unit cost reduction stemming from economies of scale.

Cash and cash equivalent, following the distribution of FY2014 dividend, reached €320m at 30.06.2015.

Mr. Dimitris Gerogiannis, Managing Director, commented:
“In the first half of 2015 we continued with our significant investments in network expansion as well as in new fleet which we took delivery in June despite the unique challenges posed by the capital controls, and we now operate with a fleet of 58 aircraft. Given our significant network expansion, for a third consecutive year, we have delivered strong growth of 20% in international traffic in the first half, outpacing the overall rate of tourism air arrivals to the country for the period by a factor of 3.

We focused our investments on our main hub in Athens as well as our regional bases in Crete, Rhodes and Larnaca. Despite competitive intensity on our main base for both domestic and international routes, as well as the uncertain and adverse business conditions prevailing in the country, we have managed to deliver healthy financial results, validating our expansion strategy.

Given the imposition of the capital controls, the extended bank holiday and the political developments, we have witnessed deteriorating conditions in July. Despite the loss in net bookings occurred during the first two weeks of July, our immediate response with fare offerings and the stability which followed Greece’s agreement with its partners, have led us to recover the lost ground in terms of traffic but with a subsequent cost to our yields. We also point out that the capital controls have not caused any material operational issues to our company given the large portion of our revenue which is generated outside of Greece. Obviously the stability in our country is considered necessary for our development going forward.”