Johannesburg - Comair, which is a franchisee of
British Airways and parent company of low-cost airline Kulula.com, says it will
report higher interim earnings.
In a statement
to shareholders issued on Wednesday, the low-cost airline manager says earnings
and headline earnings per share are expected to be at least 20 percent higher
in the 6 months to December.
In the year-ago
comparative period, Comair reported pre-tax profit of R382 million, which
translated into earnings per share of 18c. However, this was substantially
below the 2015 figure of 37.6c, mostly due to the weak rand.
In the 6 months
to December 2016 headline earnings per share came in at 13.1c, compared with
37.6c in the 2015 period.
Headline
earnings per share are seen as a key measure of profitability as it strips out
non-core items.
Read also: Comair strike grounded
Comair, which in
2016 was involved in a strike, a tussle over its licence and a challenge from a
competitor on its foreign ownership, explains that its gains are mostly due to
the strengthening of the rand against the dollar.
This resulted in
the reversal of unrealised translation losses on the dollar-denominated
aircraft loan amounting to R98 million.
In addition, it
said, all loss making open oil hedges had matured by December 31 and no further
hedges were entered into.
Oil has currently
stabilised around $54 a barrel.
Comair notes it
cannot currently be more specific as to its figures, but will publish a more
detailed statement “in due course”. It did not indicate when its results will
be published, but JSE rules require its figures are out by the end of March.
BUSINESS REPORT