Off to a good start in the new year
According to the interim figures, Air Berlin PLC generated an EBIT of EUR 21.5 million in 2007 (2006: EUR 64.2 million) and earnings after taxes of EUR 11 million (2006: EUR 50.1 million). EBITDAR increased by 48 percent from EUR 256.5 to EUR 379 million. Sales volume amounted to EUR 2.54 billion (2006: EUR 1.58 billion). A detailed statement will be issued by the company at the Press Conference on the Annual Financial Accounts on 31 March 2008.
As already reported when presenting the figures for the third quarter of 2007, the delays experienced with the integration of LTU and the technical problems encountered when merging the EDP systems of Air Berlin and LTU, resulted in a charge against earnings in the double-digit million range. Consequently, the company was unable to offset the industry-wide weakness in the second quarter.
At the time, the Air Berlin Board had assumed that the charges associated with the integration of LTU could be set off with non-recurring income from the reversal of provisions. However, due to an updated valuation, the anticipated offsetting could not be realised as extraordinary income, but was recognized directly.
As Joachim Hunold, Air Berlin’s CEO, stated in Berlin on Wednesday: “We are right on track with the LTU integration. Although the preliminary earnings for 2007 did not meet our expectations, we have reason to be optimistic for 2008. By the end of February, the capacity utilization rate and the flight revenue per available seat kilometer (ASK) had increased significantly. We are also pleased with the current level of bookings.”
