Kazakhstan’s Air Astana reaches new heights following London listing
Kazakhstan’s flag carrier Air Astana has reported an 18.5 per cent rise in quarterly passenger traffic after floating on London’s equity markets earlier this year.
The increase brings the figure for the three months to 1.9m, despite it being a traditionally quieter period for travel.
It helped revenue rise 13.3 per cent year-on-year to $264m (£210m) alongside a jump in earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation, amortization and restructuring costs (EBITDAR) of 6.6 per cent to $50m (£40m).
Net debt narrowed by 27.8 per cent to $350m (£279m). Shares rose over four per cent in early trading.
Peter Foster, chief executive of Air Astana Group, said: “I’m pleased to report such a robust performance against strong prior-year comparatives. This was achieved despite the traditionally weaker first quarter demand and the impact of the quieter Ramadan period which fell almost entirely into the first quarter this year.
“Passenger demand remains strong across both Air Astana and Flyarystan, underpinned by increasing levels of air travel within Kazakhstan, across Central Asia and to our nearby mega markets of China and India.
“With international bookings for the important summer period ahead of last year, we are ramping up capacity by expanding the fleet and optimising resources.”
The Kazakh state-owned carrier gave a major boost to London’s embattled markets when it floated in February, the first sizeable IPO of the year.
Listings in the UK capital have dried up in recent years but Foster told Morning Wire in a January interview there was “never any doubt” the City was the right place to go.