Scandinavian airline SAS loses 1.5 billion kronor in first quarter of 2024
Airline SAS made a loss of 1.5 billion Swedish kronor, around 1 billion Danish kroner, between November 2023 and January 2024.
The loss was detailed in results published by the company on Thursday. The period corresponds to SAS’ financial first quarter of 2024, although it includes the last two months of 2023.
The company also released passenger figures from February 2024. These show that 1.7 million passengers flew with the airline last month, an 8 percent increase compared to February 2023.
SAS CEO Anko van der Werff told news agency Reuters that supply chains for spare parts were a problem for the airline and had been since the Covid-19 pandemic. The issue has caused higher costs, ven der Werff said.
The CEO also said that business travel remains down compared to 2019, but that leisure travel is at a strong level.
The company’s first quarter of the year also saw a 6.3 percent increase in the number of passengers compared to the preceding year.
SAS’s results do not compare favourably with German flagship airline Lufthansa, which on Thursday announced a 1.7 billion euro annual profit for 2023.
The loss made by SAS is slightly higher than expected, according to an industry analyst.
“It is the higher costs in particular that are putting pressure on [SAS],” head of stock market analysis with Denmark’s Sydbank, Jacob Pedersen, told newswire Ritzau in a written comment.
SAS is currently undergoing a chapter 11 process in the United States, a form of bankruptcy protection. The company is awaiting a judgement from US authorities on the outcome of that procedure.
Meanwhile, a consortium including capital fund Castlelake, airline Air France-KLM, Lind Invest and the Danish state plan to invest a total of around 13.2 billion Swedish kronor in the struggling company. That would result in the delisting of SAS from the stock exchange.
SAS’ flight hub will stay in Copenhagen after the ownership change, and the company’s AGMs will still take place in Sweden.
The loss confirms the importance of successfully seeing through the US bankruptcy protection process, Pedersen said.
“On the positive side, SAS will probably emerge from bankruptcy protection into an attractive summer market, where the company, with many new routes and a favourable pricing structure, has good cards in its hand to significantly improve revenues,” he said.
Comments
See Also
The loss was detailed in results published by the company on Thursday. The period corresponds to SAS’ financial first quarter of 2024, although it includes the last two months of 2023.
The company also released passenger figures from February 2024. These show that 1.7 million passengers flew with the airline last month, an 8 percent increase compared to February 2023.
SAS CEO Anko van der Werff told news agency Reuters that supply chains for spare parts were a problem for the airline and had been since the Covid-19 pandemic. The issue has caused higher costs, ven der Werff said.
The CEO also said that business travel remains down compared to 2019, but that leisure travel is at a strong level.
The company’s first quarter of the year also saw a 6.3 percent increase in the number of passengers compared to the preceding year.
SAS’s results do not compare favourably with German flagship airline Lufthansa, which on Thursday announced a 1.7 billion euro annual profit for 2023.
The loss made by SAS is slightly higher than expected, according to an industry analyst.
“It is the higher costs in particular that are putting pressure on [SAS],” head of stock market analysis with Denmark’s Sydbank, Jacob Pedersen, told newswire Ritzau in a written comment.
SAS is currently undergoing a chapter 11 process in the United States, a form of bankruptcy protection. The company is awaiting a judgement from US authorities on the outcome of that procedure.
Meanwhile, a consortium including capital fund Castlelake, airline Air France-KLM, Lind Invest and the Danish state plan to invest a total of around 13.2 billion Swedish kronor in the struggling company. That would result in the delisting of SAS from the stock exchange.
SAS’ flight hub will stay in Copenhagen after the ownership change, and the company’s AGMs will still take place in Sweden.
The loss confirms the importance of successfully seeing through the US bankruptcy protection process, Pedersen said.
“On the positive side, SAS will probably emerge from bankruptcy protection into an attractive summer market, where the company, with many new routes and a favourable pricing structure, has good cards in its hand to significantly improve revenues,” he said.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.