Finnair swings to profit in Q2 citing adjustment to Russia airspace closure

Finnair has reiterated its guidance for a stronger-than-expected full-year performance, saying its positive second-quarter results reflect its successful adjustment to the closure of Russian airspace. The Oneworld carrier swung to a comparable operating profit of E66m for the April-June period, from a loss of E84m a year earlier. Revenue of E749m was up 36% year on year but remains short of the 2019 figure of E793m. Still, that quarterly revenue was achieved on capacity 25% down on 2019 levels, reflecting “exceptionally high” passenger yields during the most recent period, Finnair says, as result of strong demand and constrained capacity in the wider industry. It reported a Q2 net profit of E139m, having seen a loss of E280m in the year-ago period. “The strong quarter was driven by continued strong travel demand and successful implementation of Finnair’s strategy,” says Finnair CE Topi Manner. “Looking back, I’m proud of how the entire Finnair team has brought the company out of the pandemic and adapted to Russian airspace closure by defining a new strategy and implementing it successfully.” That strategy has seen Finnair rebalance its network away from a pre-Covid priority of linking Asia with Europe, given the airline’s routings were particularly affected by the closure of Russian airspace to European carriers. It continues to serve Asia – and notes some uplift from the reopening of China at the turn of the year – but capacity to Asian destinations was still only at around 53% of 2019 levels in Q2. Serving Asian markets now brings higher costs due to the longer routings, prompting Finnair to increase its focus on markets such as the North Atlantic and the Middle East. <br/>