LONDON – Last week, the Finnish flag carrier airline, Finnair, announced its results for the first half (H1) of 2022, showcasing a boom in demand, but significant fuel costs have burdened their figures significantly.

Their H1 & Q2 2022 Results

To start off, from January till June 2022 (H1), Finnair’s earnings per share was a negative €-0.36, however not as bad as it was set to seem. Thankfully their revenue had increased significantly to €950.1 million, which is an increase of 321.5% compared to H1 2021.

The carriers comparable operating result stood at €-217.1 million with an operating result of €-257.8 million.

Most of this was heavily impacted by the major hike-up in fuel costs which has thus far impacted Finnair by €177 million year-on-year, as well as incurred damages from the Ukraine war with Russian airspace closures.

Finnair’s net cash flow from operating activities stood at €217.3 million, and their net cash flow from investing activities stood at €-20.8 million.

Despite the gloomy outlook for Finnair, their passenger numbers had increased by 603.4% compared to H1 2021 to 3.9 million passengers.

This was accompanied by an ASK (Available Seat Kilometres) of 14,756.4 million, an increase of 463.3%, with a PLF (Passenger Load Factor) of 57.9%.

The following is Finnair’s outlook from Q2 2022 (April till June).

• Earnings per share stood at €-0.20
• Revenue was up to €550.3 million, an increase of 392%.
• The comparable operating result stood at €-84.2 million.
• Operating results stood at €-92.9 million.
• The hike-up in fuel price had an impact of €126 million year-on-year.
• Cash funds stood at €1,570.1 million with an equity ratio of 7.2%.
• Net cash flow from operating activities stood at €182 million.
• Net cash flow from investing activities stood at €2.8 million.
• The number of passengers carried was 2.4 million, an increase of 711.3%.
• ASK (Available Seat Kilometres) was 7,841.2 million, an increase of 452.9%.
• PLF (Passenger Load Factor) was 67.3%.

Despite all of this, Finnair is expecting a better outlook as we progress through the year, with demand further increasing towards pre-pandemic 2019 levels by Q3.

CEO Comments

Finnair’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Topi Manner, added comments to the company’s latest financial figures and future outlook, saying, “During the second quarter of 2022, Finnair was impacted by one crisis after another.”

“The impacts of the severe, two years-and-counting pandemics started to ease as demand recovered, but at the same time, we felt the full weight of the impacts of the war in Ukraine.”

“Our comparable operating result remained negative and was -84 million euros. The result was affected by the longer flight routes following the Russian airspace closure and especially the historically high fuel price, which almost doubled from year-end 2021.”

“Air travel demand started to normalize during the second quarter in many markets, which was visible as clear growth in passenger volumes and passenger load factors.”

“We operated c. 64% of our capacity compared to 2019, as the Russian airspace closure restricted flying to our traditionally important markets of Japan and South Korea.”

“Some 6% of aircraft capacity was wet-leased to partner airlines, providing work for around 600 Finnair employees.”

“Finnair is facing the impacts of the Ukrainian war as a company weakened by the pandemic. Due to these two crises, our operating result will be heavily negative for the third consecutive year.”

“To confront this latest challenge, we continue to do what we have done during the pandemic: we adapt with active measures.”

“We are preparing for the Russian airspace to remain closed for a long time. In addition, the fuel price is historically high, and our competitive environment has changed.”

“The development of the COVID-19 pandemic and the strong growth in inflation adds to the uncertainty of our operating environment. These changes require a new strategy and significant structural renewal of Finnair.”

“Therefore, we are working on a thorough strategy renewal and aim to communicate more about our direction and the changes it brings in the autumn.”

Overall

It will certainly be interesting to see what changes in the autumn of 2022 Finnair will adopt and to hear about how this is set to help future-proof the carrier in the wake of severely impacting crises.

It will also be interesting to see if Finnair intends to keep its wet-leased aircraft out to its partner airlines or if they will return to service with Finnair to cope with the increasing demand.