Losses made by the national flag carrier Croatia Airlines (CA) in the first nine months of the year amounted to 34.4 million kuna which is 3.8 million kuna less than recorded in the same period last year, the airline reported on Wednesday.
The company underscored that it generated a profit of 45.2 million kuna in the third quarter, however, when it is added to profit in the second quarter or 4.9 million kuna, all that has not sufficed to cover losses incurred in the first quarter.
CA notes that the January-September business results were impacted by the increased price of jet fuel as well as the negative impact of two strikes that were announced in the summer season which led to a reduction in the number of passengers expected and a drop in expected financial effects.
Operating revenue in the first nine months of the year was up 5% year-on-year. Passenger income increased by 7% or 75.2 million kuna while operating costs were 5% higher y-on-y. The highest increase was recorded in the cost of flying, 13%, due to the increase in the price of fuel.
“The negative effect of the price of jet fuel is currently the greatest risk to CA’s business,” the company said in press release and added that the cost of fuel in the period from January-September increased by 58.7 kuna million y-o-y.
At the same time, the cost of aircraft maintenance increased by 13 million kuna. Costs of services for passengers have increased due to disturbances in traffic and services in air traffic also increased due to increased airport costs.
In the period from January to September 2018, 1,705,470 passengers travelled with CA, an increase of 3% compared to the same period last year (domestic passengers increased by 1%, international passengers by 3%). During this year’s summer season, Croatia Airlines had direct flights to 39 European destinations in 24 countries. Its fleet consists of 14 airplanes.
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