Japan Airlines, which made a comeback from bankruptcy, says its net profit fell 3.7 percent in the first three quarters of 2012, but the carrier shrugged off the impact from its grounded 787s, raising its full-year profit estimate.
The ¥140.6 billion profit the company reported Monday for April-December compared with ¥146 billion in the same period a year earlier.
Revenues rose 3.6 percent to ¥942 billion, but operating costs rose by nearly 5 percent.
JAL raised its profit estimate for the full year ending March 31 to ¥164 billion, up from the ¥140 billion forecast in November.
The company was delisted after it filed for one of the country’s biggest-ever bankruptcies in 2010, receiving a ¥350 billion government bailout.
It restructured and cut costs to restore profitability, netting ¥663 billion in an IPO last fall, nearly double the sum spent on its bailout.
JAL, All Nippon Airways Co., the world’s biggest operator of 787s, and six other airlines halted Dreamliner flights after the Federal Aviation Administration ordered the grounding following a lithium-ion battery fire and an emergency landing by an ANA plane Jan. 16.
“The impact on JAL is relatively small,” said Nicholas Cunningham, an analyst at Macquarie Capital Securities (Japan) Ltd. “At this point it’s slightly negative, but it’s potentially possible it will be offset through other measures.”
The grounding will cut sales by ¥1.1 billion through March, JAL said.
ANA said last week that cancellations of 787 flights cut ¥1.4 billion from sales in January. The carrier, which has no buffer of planes to cover its 17 Dreamliners, has pulled 830 Dreamliner flights from Jan. 16 through Feb. 18.
JAL hasn’t started any compensation talks with Boeing on the 787s, President Yoshiharu Ueki told reporters. The airline will delay the retirement of two Boeing 767 planes.
Helsinki debut delayed
Kyodo
Japan Airlines Co. said Monday it has decided to postpone the launch of its service connecting Narita International Airport and Helsinki until safety concerns involving the Boeing 787 Dreamliner are resolved.
JAL was planning to begin flights on the route Feb. 25 using the fuel-efficient Dreamliner. The airline said it decided to reschedule the start “in view of necessary adjustments to JAL’s international routes” utilizing the new jet.