Finnair flags third straight quarter of virus-induced losses in Q4

Finnair reported a second consecutive quarterly loss on Wednesday and said the final three months of the year are likely yield a similar result as restrictions curb air travel. “We estimate that the ramp-up in terms of demand starting to pick will materialise on a bigger scale at the start of the summer season, so basically end of March, April, next spring,” CE Topi Manner said. Finnair, which is 55.9% state owned, made an underlying operating loss of E167m for July-September, compared with a E174.3m loss in the previous quarter and a profit of E100.7m a year earlier. “Travel restrictions, which are particularly strict in Finland, led us to deviate from our plans and we continued to operate a restricted network throughout the quarter,” Manner said. Evli analysts said Finnair’s loss in the quarter was smaller than markets had expected, but revenue, which decreased by 88.7% to E97.4m, was below market expectations. The airline said it would increase its cost-cutting target by E40m to E140m and reduce headcount by almost 1,100 from the levels at the start of the year. For more savings and to ensure competitiveness after the pandemic, Finnair said it was in talks to remove some index increments from its staff pensions and that the change was pending approval from authorities. The airline said the planned reduction in pension expenses, which it has not yet included in its renewed cost-cut target, would have a one-off positive impact of at least E85m on Q4 earnings, without an immediate impact on cash flow.<br/>