CNA – Japan Airlines Co (JAL) yesterday forecast a 60-per-cent rise in net profit for the current business year as travel demand recovers further from the COVID-19 pandemic, and after swinging back to the black for the first time in three years.
For the business year to March 2024, JAL expects a group net profit of JPY55 billion (USD399.8 million), compared with JPY34.4 billion last year. Nine analysts surveyed by Refinitiv forecast a mean profit of JPY75.3 billion.
A pick-up in travel demand throughout the last fiscal year offset higher fuel costs to help Japan’s second-largest airline return to profit.
Domestic demand is expected to return to 94 per cent of pre-COVID levels during the current business year, while demand for international travel is seen recovering to 65 per cent, the company said.
Group revenue is expected to rise 20.5 per cent to JPY1.66 trillion, it said.
Last month, the country’s top airline ANA Holdings also reported an annual profit and expected a further rise this year.
