Air France KLM profits dip
Air France KLM reported a 2.4% dip in net profits from €913m to €891m for the year ending March 31, 2007.
But it said its revenues were up 7.6% to €23bn and operating income increased by 32.5% from €936m to €1.24bn.
Return on capital employed also increased by 1.3% to 6.5%.
The airline said that excluding the €419m from the sale of part of its stake in Amadeus, a GDS, in 2005-2006, its earnings in 2006-2007 rose by 80%.
During the past year, Air France KLM said operating costs rose by 6.4% to €21.83bn.
The fuel bill rose by 18.7% from €3.59bn to €4.26bn while employee costs rose by 5.2% to €6.69bn.
The carrier said passenger activity during the year was "dynamic" with a 4.4% increase in capacity, traffic up by 5.4% and the load factor up 0.6% to 81.4%.
During 2006-2007, Air France KLM carried 73.5m passengers, an increase of 5% on the previous 12 months, and who generated €18.7bn revenue.
Jean-Cyril Spinetta, chairman of Air France KLM, said: "This past year has demonstrated the benefits of our profitable growth strategy.
"We have taken advantage of global growth to develop our business in all major markets and increase our profitability through cost control while continuing to invest in our future."
He said the end of the financial year marked the end of the "first phase" in the merger between Air France and KLM three years ago which had resulted in “significant value creation” for the group and its shareholders.
He added: "Today marks the start of a new phase, which will see the deeper integration
of the strategic functions of the group. This will enable us to further enhance our profitability, with a target return on capital employed of 8.5% by 2009-10."