Turkish Airlines revenues increase, increasing expenses weigh down profit

Turkish Airlines' total revenues climbed 9.6% year-on-year (YoY) in the first quarter 2024 to $4.8bn. While its passenger revenues were up 4.8% YoY to $3.8bn, its cargo revenues surged 27% to $750 million as demand for e-commerce increased throughout the financial period. Its net income was down slightly YoY to $226 million, marking a 3% decrease. Its profit from main operations was down 63.2% YoY to $42 million, while its total operational expenses were up 13.7% YoY to $4.8bn. Fuel expenses, which represent 32% of its total expenses, was up marginally by 4.1% to $1.5bn. Most notably, it reported that its costs for personnel, which represent 21.4% of its overall expenditure, was up 41.3% YoY to $1.02bn. Its passenger numbers increased 8.4% YoY to 18.5 million in the quarter, with its load factor down a 0.9 percentage point to 80.4%. Its capacity, measured in available seat kilometres, increased 13% YoY to 58.45bn. It said that the increase in passenger capacity had offset some of the cost pressures it faced during the quarter. Its cash and cash equivalents, as well as short-term financial investments, were at $5.7bn as of March 31, 2024. Its total current assets were at $8.5bn and total non-current assets were at $27.6bn. Turkish Airlines' total combined liabilities and shareholders equity at the end of the quarter was at $36.1bn, with liabilities at $20.1bn and shareholders equity at $16bn. Its net debt to EBITDA was 1.2x as of the end of the first quarter.