Interim reports Finnair still made a loss, but the company’s result was still drastically better than expected – the company opening new long-haul routes expects air traffic to return to normal soon

Economic|Interim reports

Carrier Finnair’s operations were still loss-making in the last quarter of last year, but the loss decreased sharply compared to October – December 2020.

In October – December, the company made a comparable operating loss of more than EUR 65 million. A year earlier, the loss was almost EUR 163 million.

Despite the loss, Finnair’s result, which was punished by the coronavirus pandemic, can be considered good. Analysts expected the company to make a loss of more than 90 million euros.

At the same time, Finnair’s net sales increased by more than 305 per cent year-on-year. Net sales in October – December amounted to approximately EUR 413.5 million.

The number of passengers, on the other hand, increased by as much as 447 per cent year-on-year. Finnair now had 1.5 million passengers, compared to only 0.2 million in October – December 2020.

The sharp rises are mainly explained by the fact that the coronavirus weighed on passenger numbers really low towards the end of 2020.

Finnair It is estimated that the omicron wave that hit the end of 2021 caused significant damage to the company, but the effects of the omicron will still be short-lived.

“Omikron has proven to be milder than previous variants, and as the wave breaks, European countries have lifted restrictions. The pandemic is entering an endemic phase, with the coronavirus being treated as a normal respiratory infection, ”says the CEO. Topi Manner in the results bulletin.

“We estimate that next summer, with the exception of China and Hong Kong, we will be closer to the normal operating environment, although the opening up of Asia will be delayed than previously estimated. The second half of 2021 showed that pent-up travel demand is strong. We are preparing for the growing demand of summer 2022 by inviting staff back from layoffs and opening new long-haul routes to Seattle, Dallas, Busan and Hanedan Airport in Tokyo. ”

The company’s Board of Directors proposes that no dividend be paid for 2021.

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