Ethiopian Airlines revenues up 34 pct in 07/08

Ethiopian Airlines Cargo Boeing 757-260PF, Brussels

30 October, 2008

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopian Airlines said on Thursday operating revenues rose 34 percent to 9.2 billion birr in the year ended June 2008 despite increased fuel prices and stiff global competition.

The African carrier's net profits stood at 507 million birr in the same period, Chief Executive Girma Wake told a news conference.

"The substantial growth in revenue and the resultant operating profit are directly the result of growth in traffic following the increase in many flight frequencies and the introduction of additional new destinations of the international scale," he said.

The state-owned carrier shuttled 2.5 million passengers during the period, a 20 percent increase over the same period last year.

"The revenue from cargo sales and other auxiliary services also contributed to the overall financial performance of the airlines," he said.

Girma said new services to Zanzibar, Kuwait, Democratic Republic of Congo and Cameroon had helped scale up revenues. Code-share agreements with South African Airways, Lufthansa, TAAG-Angola Airlines, Gulf Air, Air One, Brussels Airlines also helped.

Total operating expenses increased by 31 percent to 8.8 billion birr compared with the previous year, with fuel taking the lion's share followed by engine purchases, leases and payroll expenses, he said.

Ethiopian Airlines travels to 32 destinations in Africa and a total of 52 international airports around the globe.