Croatia Airlines posts €19.6 million loss in H1

Croatia Airlines recorded a net loss of 19.6 million euros during the first half of the year and has warned its business could be further impacted by the spread of new variants of Covid-19. The airline’s financial performance is an improvement on last year’s loss of 23 million euros but still behind its 2019 half-yearly result which amounted to 12.1 million euros in the red. Expenditure was lower due to fewer operated flights and passengers carried. “Despite greater expectations, the achieved results show a notable decline compared to the same period last year”, the carrier said. It should be noted that part of the first quarter of 2020 was unaffected by the pandemic.

During the first six months of 2021, Croatia Airlines handled 208.657 passengers, representing a decrease of 36.9%. The average cabin load factor stood at 45.3% down 13.4 points on H1 2020. The carrier welcomed 71.367 travellers on domestic flights, down 15%, while 131.181 passengers flew on the airline’s international operations, a decrease of 46%. The remaining 6.109 travellers were carried on charter services, representing an increase of 8%, however, this segment accounted for just 3% of total operations. The average cabin load factor on domestic routes amounted to 40.5%, down 13.4% points, while the average cabin occupancy on international services declined 12.5 points to 47.6%. A total of 5.421 flights were operated during the six-month period, down 4% on 2020. Over the first half of the year, the airline had 938 employees on the books, down from 1.029. 

Commenting on its results, Croatia Airlines said, “Despite some positive developments during the second quarter of the year, the company is still facing reduced demand and ticket sales, subsequently resulting in depleted revenue. In the coming period, this may again raise the issue of maintaining liquidity, especially given the unpredictability of the crisis. The company is undertaking all necessary measures to actively monitor liquidity and optimise operations. It continues to apply rigorous cost-saving measures”. It added, “Despite the company having greater expectations from the normalisation of operations and the resumption of flight, the ongoing crisis and the spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus will continue to impact on business”.