ANA, JAL Log 1st April-Dec. Net Profits in 3 Yrs

Jiji Press

11:40 JST, February 3, 2023

Tokyo — Japan’s two major air carriers Thursday reported their first April-December group net profits in three years.

Demand from visitors to Japan started recovering after the Japanese government drastically eased coronavirus border controls in October last year, the airlines said.

Net profit at ANA Holdings Inc. , the parent of All Nippon Airways, in the first nine months of fiscal 2022 stood at ¥62,601 million, against a net loss of ¥102,804 million a year earlier.

Japan Airlines reported ¥16,313 million in net profit, against a net loss of ¥128,322 million.

Sales soared 70.5 pct to ¥1,258,655 million at ANA Holdings and 101.7 pct to ¥1,005,590 million at JAL.

In view of the faster-than-expected pace of recovery in inbound travel demand, ANA Holdings raised its group sales forecast from ¥1.7 trillion to ¥1.71 trillion and net profit projection from ¥40 billion to ¥60 billion for the current year.

“North American and Asian routes are drawing particularly high inbound demand,” Kimihiro Nakahori, ANA Holdings executive vice president, told a press conference.

On the other hand, JAL lowered its full-year net profit estimate from ¥45 billion to ¥25 billion, saying domestic flight demand in January-February would be weaker than initially expected.

The two carriers’ earnings are only halfway to returning to pre-pandemic levels, pundits pointed out.