airBaltic full year 2024 results plummeted to a net loss of €118.2 million, compared to a €33.7 million profit in 2023.
The company said this primarily due to accelerated depreciation on its Pratt & Whitney engines, which amount to €73 million, the euro depreciation against the US dollar in the year, as well as the servicing of the group's expanded bond programme from May 2024. The company said around 38% of its total debt obligations are denominated in US dollar, totalling around $551 million. Total net debt as of the end of the year was €1.3bn and net debt to adjusted EBITDAR at 6.9x.
airBaltic CEO and president Martin Gauss said these “temporary setbacks” will not impact the company's long-term trajectory.
The company's revenues were up 12%, totalling €747.6 million for the full year. Adjusted EBITDAR was up 16% to €184.2 million, while adjusted EBITDAR margin was up 0.8 percentage points to 24.6%.
The company's load factor was up 4.5 percentage points to 81.2%, while passenger numbers were up 13% to a record 5.1 million.
Operating costs totalled €741.4 million, up from €587.6 million in 2023. The company's operating profit fell from €80.3 million in 2023, down to €6.1 million last year.
The company estimates around 14% capacity increase in 2025 and passenger numbers to increase around 5% compared to last year.
airBaltic added that it will continue with the potential initial public offering (IPO) launch at earliest second quarter this year. Gauss had told attendees of the Airline Economics Growth Frontiers Dublin in January that the IPO could be pushed back to early January. To read our interview with Gauss in issue 84 of Airline Economics, click here.
The airline added that it plans to re-enter the Ukrainian market from “day one” of open airspace, which is expected to boost commercial performance as well as reduce costs related to flying around the currently closed airspace. The airline aims to reintegrate Kyiv and Lviv into its route network and plans to expand beyond Riga, linking Kyiv with Tallinn and Vilnius.