5,033 million for 2012, a 2% increase on the CHF 4,927 million of the previous year.
Annual operating profit declined 31%, however, to CHF 212 million. SWISS achieved an
operating profit of CHF 27 million for the 2012 fourth-quarter period, a CHF 9 million
improvement on the CHF 18 million of October-to-December 2011. “We continue to face
strong business headwinds,” said CEO Harry Hohmeister commenting on the results.
“But we did take a number of actions in the course of last year to improve our earnings
performance.”
In response to the trends, SWISS has defined various future-oriented initiatives (SCORE)
companywide to effect long-term structural improvements to its earnings capability. Some
64 of more than 120 actions defined so far made a significant contribution to SWISS’s
earnings in 2012, and further such improvements are expected to have an impact of
similar dimensions on 2013 earnings results. “Given the recent changes we have seen in
our business and operating parameters, we must make these additional efforts if we are
to retain our ability to fund our future investments,” Hohmeister emphasizes.
SWISS will begin replacing its present long-haul aircraft fleet from 2016 onwards. To this
end, orders have been placed for six Boeing B777-300ER aircraft. The decision to opt for
Boeing’s successful 777 was taken after extensive evaluations. The six firm orders
represent a total investment of more than CHF 1.5 billion.
The new Boeing twinjets will be deployed on SWISS’s ultra-long-range routes to
destinations such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, São Paulo, Bangkok, Hong Kong,
Shanghai, Beijing, Johannesburg and Singapore.
The Boeing B777-300ER incorporates proven sophisticated technology. The aircraft is
extremely reliable, offers high cabin comfort levels and seats over 330. It also boasts perseat fuel and CO2 savings of 23% over the A340.
“The Boeing B777-300ER has the ideal size and range to meet our Swiss market needs,”
says CEO Harry Hohmeister. “And with many of our competitors already operating aircraft
with over 300 seats on the routes concerned, this further investment in an advanced
aircraft fleet is a landmark decision that is crucial to retaining our competitive edge.” The
777 is already in service elsewhere within the Lufthansa Group, too – at Austrian Airlines
and, as of autumn 2013, it will be in use at Lufthansa Cargo.
SWISS’s total income from operating activities for the fourth quarter of 2012 amounted to
CHF 1,219 million – virtually unchanged from the CHF 1,220 million of the prior-year
period. Operating profit for the period rose 50%, from the CHF 18 million of the previous
year to CHF 27 million. The fourth quarter of 2011 was, however, SWISS’s weakest in
financial performance terms since its corporate restructuring of 2006.
Overall fourth-quarter capacity was 4% up on the prior-year period (down 0.4% in Europe
and up 6.3% on the intercontinental network). SWISS operated a total of 36,757 flights,
1.2% fewer than a year before. Despite this, passenger numbers rose 0.2%, from 3.75
million to 3.76 million. Systemwide seat load factor amounted to 81.2%, an improvement
of 0.3 percentage points. Seat load factor was unchanged for Europe at 72.5% and saw a
slight 0.2-point increase to 85.4% for intercontinental routes. Capacity at Swiss
WorldCargo was raised by a full 18.5% for the quarter. Cargo load factor (by volume)
stood at 80.9%, an improvement of 1.6 percentage points.
Once again, SWISS set a new Swiss aviation record in 2012 for the annual number of
passengers carried. Some 15,816,469 customers travelled with the airline, 3.3% more
than the previous year (2011: 15,317,275 passengers). Annual capacity was increased
4.7% in available-seat-kilometre (ASK) terms, while total traffic volume in revenue 3/5
passenger-kilometres (RPK) was raised 6.1%. Seat load factor rose accordingly by 1.1
percentage points to 82.9%, another record value. A total of 150,860 flights were
operated systemwide, a slight 0.5% increase on the previous year (2011: 150,131 flights).
On the intercontinental network ASK capacity was increased 5.8%, while RPK traffic
volume rose 7.5%. The seat load factor of 87.1% was a 1.4-percentage-point
improvement on the previous year. ASK capacity on SWISS’s European network was
raised 2.4% for the year, while RPK traffic volume increased by 3%. Seat load factor rose
0.4 percentage points to 74.7%.
On the airfreight front, Swiss WorldCargo raised its total cargo tonne-kilometres for the
year by 3%. Cargo load factor (by volume) stood at 79.3%, a 0.8-percentage-point
improvement on 2011.
Swiss Media Release
Further information you can find in the following PDF
20130314_media_release_swiss_business_report_q4_2012_1.pdf |