Aer Lingus 2007 earnings up

Aer Lingus posted a 16 per cent rise in 2007 operating profit but said it could not yet give guidance for this year because of…

Aer Lingus posted a 16 per cent rise in 2007 operating profit but said it could not yet give guidance for this year because of uncertainties about the economic outlook and oil prices.

Operating profit before employee share came in at €88.5 million.

The former state airline said it was well positioned to deal with market pressures due to its cash reserves and low costs, but it was too early to predict earnings for 2008.

"There are so many variables that are out there, the economic performance in our main markets Ireland, the United States and the UK," Finance Director Greg O'Sullivan told Reuters in an interview.

READ MORE

"And the complete unknown is oil, which is a substantial proportion of our costs base, in excess of 20 per cent," he said.

The airline said that in the seasonally weaker first half of the year it expected total revenue per available seat kilometre to be lower than last year.

"While it is too early to have a clear view on the second half of the year, forward bookings for the peak summer period as a percentage of capacity are currently tracking in line with last year," it said in a statement.

At the end of February, Aer Lingus had hedged 36 per cent of its remaining 2008 fuel requirements at €517 per tonne of jet fuel, but the remainder was exposed to market fluctuations, it said.

Shares in Aer Lingus traded 0.5 per cent higher at 8.11am at €2, underperforming a 1.35 per cent rise in the wider Irish market.