AER LINGUS HAS announced its operating profit for the third quarter of the year: the figure for the period between July and September was €94.9 million, representing a 4.4 per cent increase on the previous year.
Despite what the airline is calling “challenging conditions,” total revenue for the third quarter was up 1.2 per cent to €466.3 million, with operating costs increasing by 0.4 per cent to €371.4 million.
Management at the carrier are blaming the fine Irish summer for a decrease in short haul passenger volumes, which dropped 2.8 per cent to 2.568 million over the three month period.
Long haul performed particularly strongly however, with a 15.8 per cent increase in passenger numbers.
The Q3 figures released this morning show that Aer Lingus’ gross cash position at the end of September was €933.2 million.
Aer Lingus CEO Christoph Mueller said he didn’t expect any improvement in the airline’s short haul performance for the rest of 2013, as the market “remains characterised by heavily discounted fare offerings across Europe”.
“The 2013 outlook on long haul remains positive with the exception of some weakness expected in November which was previously communicated.”
The company expects that the full year operating profit will be around €60 million.
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