Etihad Airways concluded roadshows, in New York and London, attracting several hundred bankers. According to Etihad Airways, the airline is witnessing a surge in business interest as a consequent to the 2011 profit announcement and equity investments in other airlines.
The announcement cited year 2011 EBIT* of US$137 million on revenues up 36 per cent to US$4.1 billion. The net profit of US$14 million exceeded the airline’s 2011 target which was to break even.
In December Etihad Airways increased its equity in airberlin, Europe’s sixth largest carrier, to 29.2 per cent and last month announced to acquire a 40 per cent interest in Air Seychelles.
“We have a very strong relationship with the international banking community and we work hard to ensure they understand our business model, what we are doing and why we are doing it,” Etihad Airways President and Chief Executive Officer, James Hogan, said.
“Over the last five years we have raised more than US$5 billion through 41 financial institutions to finance our aircraft.”
In 2008 Etihad Airways ordered 100 new aircraft and 105 options and purchase rights in one of the largest deals in commercial aviation history.
Hogan stated “We will continue to build the business through a combination of organic network growth, an expansion of our codeshare partnerships and targeted acquisitions and investments.”
Hogan continues saying the challenges in 2012 included a weak global economy exacerbated by the Euro zone crisis, political instability in parts of the Middle East and North Africa, more regulation, taxes and charges in the European Union, and volatile oil prices.
“Our management policies to minimise financial risk include active fuel hedges with 24 international institutions. We are hedged at 74 per cent for the rest of this year, 50 per cent in 2013, and 25 per cent in 2014.
“There is no easy year in this business but Etihad Airways is well positioned to meet these challenges with the support of the international banking community which continues to underpin our record growth.”
Source: Etihad Airways
Notes:
* In accounting and finance, earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) is a measure of a firm's profit that excludes interest and income tax expenses. Operating income is the difference between operating revenues and operating expenses. When a firm has zero non-operating income, then operating income is sometimes used as a synonym for EBIT and operating profit.
EBIT = Revenue – Operating expenses (OPEX) + Non-operating income