The management accounts of Icelandair Group for July and August have now been finalized. The accounts demonstrate strong financial performance of the Company's passenger and leasing operations with considerable year-on-year improvement. However, the cargo operation has remained challenging, and the profit improvement expected at the time of publication of the Q2 financial results has not been realized. Furthermore, fuel price has increased almost 30% since then.
According to Icelandair's updated guidance for 2023, total revenue is expected to be around USD 1.5 billion and EBIT in the range of USD 50-65 million, which is around 3.3-4.3% of revenue. The Company still expects to deliver net profit for the full year.
The outlook for the passenger operation remains positive, with strong bookings for the remainder of the year. Equally, the outlook for the leasing business is favorable. Further actions are being taken to turn the cargo business around. Icelandair's financial position is strong, and the Company is well positioned for further profitable growth. Agreements for three new passenger aircraft have already been finalized for next year which will create opportunities to expand the route network and increase capacity by around 10% between years.
The updated guidance is based on a weighted average fuel price (excluding hedges) of 990 USD m/t. The Company has hedged approximately 43% of the expected fuel consumption in the period from September to December at an average price of USD 864 m/t. The USD/ISK exchange rate is estimated to be, 134 on average during the period.
Contact Information:
Investors: Iris Hulda Thorisdóttir, Director of Investor Relations. E-mail: iris@icelandair.is
Media: Asdís Petursdóttir, Director of Communications. E-mail: asdis@icelandair.is
