THAI flies out of the red on cheap oil

THAI flies out of the red on cheap oil

Thai Airways International turned a profit in the first quarter of this year. (Photo by
Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)
Thai Airways International turned a profit in the first quarter of this year. (Photo by Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)

Thai Airways International (THAI) returned to profit in the first quarter of this year, president Charamporn Jotikasthira said on Tuesday.

The airline recorded a 4.54-billion-baht net profit on revenue of 51 billion baht, thanks to plunging oil prices and a foreign-exchange gain.

Its fuel cost fell 30% year-on-year or 6.26 billion baht during the quarter. It also booked an unrealised foreign exchange gain of 9.65 billion baht.

The cabin factor was 76% in the first three months of this year compared to 69% on-year, he added.

Mr Charamporn vowed to slash costs by 9 billion baht this year, including a 5.5-billion-baht golden handshake programme. The scheme has been approved by the board but the budget still needs board approval, most likely by June.

The carrier has managed to trim 1,800 from its 25,000-strong workforce as planned, he said.

As well, the airline scrapped loss-making routes such as the Bangkok-Johannnesburg, Bangkok-Moscow and Phuket-Seoul services. The carrier also revamped its fleet by retiring and selling old aircraft to stop bleeding.

The news added 80 satang to THAI shares to close at 12.80 baht on Tuesday, a 6.67% jump, while the SET index closed in the negative territory.

THAI suffered full-year losses of 15.6 billion baht last year. It lost 6.44 billion baht in the final quarter of last year.

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