Finnair Plc Interim Report 29 April 2025 at 9:00 a.m. EEST
Industrial action and increased costs weighed on the seasonally weak Q1 result as anticipated
January-March 2025
- Revenue increased by 1.9% to 694.2 million euros (681.5).
- Comparable operating result was -62.6 million euros (-11.6). Industrial action had a negative impact of around 22 million euros on the comparable operating result.
- Operating result was -53.4 million euros (-17.2).
- Earnings per share were -0.25 euros (-0.15).
- Net cash flow from operating activities was 192.1 million euros (138.9) and net cash flow from investing activities -57.2 million euros (-25.9)*.
- Number of passengers increased by 2.6% to 2.6 million (2.6**).
- Available seat kilometres (ASK) increased by 2.3% to 9,126.4 million kilometres (8,922.9). Including wet leases, ASKs increased by 1.6%.
- Passenger load factor (PLF) increased by 1.6 percentage points to 73.8% (72.1).
Unless otherwise stated, comparisons and figures in parentheses refer to the comparison period, i.e., the same period last year.
*In Q1, net cash flow from investing activities included 5.1 million euros of investments (6.5 million euros of redemptions) in money market funds or other financial assets (maturity over three months). They are part of the Group's liquidity management.
**The number of passengers and cargo tonnes for January-November 2024 were corrected in December 2024, with a total impact of 59,100 additional passengers and 828.7 additional cargo tonnes for the period.
Outlook and guidance
Finnair's guidance regarding capacity, revenue and comparable operating result for 2025, excluding any impact of industrial action, is unchanged.
Under Outlook and guidance on 29 April 2025, the company provides additional information on the impacts of industrial action and highlights the increased uncertainty and risk levels in the operating environment.
Outlook and guidance on 29 April 2025
Global air traffic is expected to continue growing in 2025. However, international conflicts, global political instability, the threat of trade wars and a tense labour market situation in Finland cause uncertainty in the operating environment. In particular, the risk levels related to tariffs between different countries and their direct and indirect impacts have increased.
Excluding the impact of industrial action, Finnair has planned to increase its total capacity, measured by ASKs, by c. 10% in 2025. The capacity estimate includes the agreed wet leases. Finnair has anticipated its revenue to be within the range of 3.3-3.4 billion euros and its comparable operating result to be within the range of 100-200 million euros in 2025. In 2025, profitability is burdened particularly by additional costs caused by the sustainable aviation fuel distribution obligation introduced in the EU, as well as rising navigation and landing charges. The direct cost impact of tariffs that will enter into force after the first quarter is estimated to be limited. It is too early to estimate the magnitude of potential indirect effects.
The estimates regarding capacity, revenue and comparable operating result do not include impacts of industrial action. In the first quarter of 2025, industrial action had a negative impact of around 31 million euros on revenue and around 22 million euros on the comparable operating result. In April 2025, industrial action is estimated to have a negative impact of around 15 million euros on revenue and around 10 million euros on the comparable operating result. In addition, regardless of the duration of industrial action, Finnair has decided to cancel 230 flights scheduled for the summer season due to a temporary lack of resources following the industrial action, which is estimated to negatively impact revenue by approximately 30 million euros and the comparable operating result by approximately 10 million euros. Based on the cancellations already confirmed, industrial action is estimated to have a negative impact of approximately 5% on the total capacity in 2025, measured by ASKs.
Finnair will update its outlook and guidance in connection with the 2025 half-year report.
Previous outlook and guidance issued on 13 February 2025
Global air traffic is expected to continue growing in 2025. However, international conflicts, global political instability and a tense labour market situation in Finland cause uncertainty in the operating environment.
Finnair plans to increase its total capacity, measured by ASKs, by c. 10% in 2025. The capacity estimate includes the agreed wet leases. Finnair expects its revenue to be within the range of 3.3-3.4 billion euros and its comparable operating result to be within the range of 100-200 million euros in 2025. In 2025, profitability is burdened particularly by additional costs caused by the sustainable aviation fuel distribution obligation introduced in the EU, as well as rising navigation and landing charges, which will weigh on the comparable operating result especially for the seasonally low first quarter. In addition, the first quarter's comparable operating result will be negatively impacted by the timing of Easter.
The estimates regarding capacity, revenue and comparable operating result do not include impacts of industrial action. In January 2025, the estimated negative impact of industrial action on comparable operating result was around 5 million euros.
Finnair will update its outlook and guidance in connection with the 2025 first quarter interim report.
CEO Turkka Kuusisto:
The first, seasonally weakest quarter of the year was tough for Finnair. Industrial action impacted our operations and had a negative effect on our financial result, while our operating cash flow was strong, driven by sales intake. Our revenue increased by 1.9% from the comparison period. At the same time, the number of passengers increased by 2.6% and available seat kilometres (ASK) by 2.3%. However, our comparable operating result decreased significantly.
The weakening of the result was particularly affected by the industrial action of the Finnish Airline Pilots' Association, which had a negative impact of approximately 31 million euros on revenue, approximately 4 million euros on other operating income and approximately 22 million euros on comparable operating result. The prolonged industrial action has already affected the journeys of approximately 190,000 customers and has clearly increased rerouting, accommodation and care costs. We have also had to reduce our traffic plan for the summer. Last week, Service Sector Employers Palta submitted a proposal to the Finnish Airline Pilots' Association for the outcome of the collective labour agreement negotiations, and an answer is expected by tomorrow, 30 April. We hope the agreement will be signed as soon as possible.
We are extremely sorry for the inconvenience caused by the industrial action to our customers and would like to thank them for their patience.
We have invested in the rapid handling of disruptions through automation, which speeds up customer rerouting and the processing of claims. The prolonged disruption is reflected in customer satisfaction, but the net promoter score remained at the level of the previous year's comparison period. Thank you to all Finnair employees who have taken good care of customers even in the event of traffic disruptions.
As expected, the result was also negatively impacted by costs related to the use of sustainable aviation fuel, driven by changes in environmental regulation, and changes in the EU emissions trading system, which together weakened the comparable operating result by a total of approximately 10 million euros from the comparison period, as well as higher landing and navigation fees, which also increased costs by approximately 10 million euros. However, the comparable operating result was in line with our expectations, apart from the effects of industrial action.
Travel demand remained healthy during the first quarter and contributed to the strong cash flow. However, at the start of the second quarter, the threat of trade wars and uncertainty related to economic development have increased significantly, which may weaken demand. At the same time, the price of fuel has declined. Securing profitability, ensuring competitiveness through continuous improvement and optimising our network are at the heart of our work in this uncertain situation.
Finnair has a good offering for the upcoming summer season to meet customers' travel needs, and we are also in a strong position to face the uncertainties related to the operating environment.
Financial reporting in 2025
The publication dates of Finnair's financial reports in 2025 are the following:
- Half-year Report for January-June 2025 on Wednesday 16 July 2025
- Interim Report for January-September 2025 on Thursday 30 October 2025
This text is a summary of Finnair's Interim Report January - March 2025. The full report is available as an attachment to this report.
FINNAIR PLC
Board of Directors
Briefings
Finnair will hold a results press conference (in Finnish) on 29 April 2025 at 11:00 a.m. Finnish time at its office at Tietotie 9 in Vantaa, Finland. It is also possible to participate in the press conference via a live webcast at https://finnairgroup.videosync.fi/2025-04-29-media.
An English-language telephone conference and webcast will begin on 29 April 2025 at 1:00 p.m. Finnish time. To access the telephone conference, kindly register at https://events.inderes.com/finnairgroup/q1-2025/dial-in. After the registration, you will be provided with phone numbers and a conference ID. To join the live webcast, please register at https://finnairgroup.events.inderes.com/q1-2025.
For further information, please contact:
Chief Financial Officer Kristian Pullola, tel. +358 9 818 4960, kristian.pullola@finnair.com
Head of Investor Relations Erkka Salonen, tel. +358 9 818 5101, erkka.salonen@finnair.com
Distribution:
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Finnair is a network airline, specialising in connecting passenger and cargo traffic between Asia, the Middle East, North America and Europe. Finnair is the only airline with year-round direct flights to Lapland. Customers have chosen Finnair as the Best Airline in Northern Europe in the Skytrax Awards for 14 times in a row. Finnair is a member of the oneworld alliance. Finnair Plc's shares are quoted on Nasdaq Helsinki.
