Favorable growth and improved earnings in first half of 2007
Key ratios from the SAS Group six-month report published today:
• Income before nonrecurring items for the period amounted to MSEK 369 ( 588), an improvement of MSEK 957.
• The income improvement is attributable to a combination of favorable business conditions, higher yield, effective capacity and cost control, and new business models.
• The Group carried 20.1 million passengers during the period, which is more than earlier and 5.8% more than in the preceding year.
• The Group’s total revenue increased by 3.4% to MSEK 30,133.
Mats Jansson, President and CEO comments:
The quarter was characterized by continued favorable business conditions in our home market, which contributed to growth in the market for air travel. Consequently, the trend for passengers and yield remained positive and this, combined with effective cost and capacity control, generated an improvement in income of approximately SEK 1 billion for the first six months of the year.
In June, we launched our strategy plan 2011. The premise for this is to reduce the Group’s complexity to benefit the customer and the key terms are cultural turnaround, focus, concentration, harmonization and increased competitiveness. The objective of the plan is to create the conditions for profitable growth and to achieve an earnings level that meets our investment requirements and shareholders’ demands.
I deeply regret the strikes that have affected SAS customers and shareholders. Accordingly, a key part of our strategy is to implement a cultural turnaround and find a new model for cooperation with the trade unions.
There are currently no clear indications of a slowdown in the economy or the airline market, but uncertainty remains regarding the strength of growth, the competitive situation moving forward and the trend for jet fuel.
See the Interim Report at www.sasgroup.net for further detailed information.
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