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Air New Zealand planes at Auckland Airport - Source: ONE News
Air New Zealand says its first half profit has more than doubled though it is warning it is expecting a weaker second half.
The airline has reported a net profit for the six months to December of $56 million, up from $24 million in the same period a year ago.
The board has declared an interim dividend of 3 cents per share.
It says operating revenue dipped 15% to $2.1 billion, following lower passenger numbers, cargo volumes and yields.
Passenger demand was down 4.6% for the period.
"In very challenging conditions this is a good result," says Air New Zealand Chairman John Palmer.
"The fallout from the global financial crisis continued to make operating conditions extremely difficult. At the same time, fuel prices have returned to more stable levels following unprecedented volatility in the 2009 financial year," Palmer says.
Air New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Rob Fyfe says the result reflects the considerable efforts of the airline's staff and their continued focus on delivering world-class results.
"Those efforts were recognised with the recent Air Transport World Airline of the Year Award and are reinforced by the airline's strong performance in the first half of this financial year," says Fyfe.
Fyfe says innovation remains a key theme for the year ahead.
However the national carrier says it expects the second half of the year to be weaker and has also flagged the possibility of a $20 million currency hedging loss, should the exchange rate stay where it is.
