JAL sales in April-Dec. at record 1.51 tril. yen on firm inbound tourism
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan Airlines Co. said Tuesday its sales for the nine months through December rose 9.2 percent from the previous year to 1.51 trillion yen ($9.75 billion), a record high for the period since its relisting in 2012, buoyed by strong demand for inbound tourism.
Its net profit climbed 24.9 percent to 113.74 billion yen, as the major Japanese air carrier also got a boost from robust domestic travel demand.
Despite the tailwind, JAL took a cautious view on travel demand from China, one of its key markets.
"We are seeing the effects of declining demand from China... especially from group bookings," Chief Financial Officer Yuji Saito said at a press conference, saying that demand was down between 20 to 25 percent from a year earlier for the company.
China urged its citizens in November to avoid traveling to Japan amid growing tensions between the two countries, since controversial remarks about a Taiwan contingency by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
"We will also be affected for the upcoming Chinese New Year," Saito said, adding that the company needs to gauge demand trends. "We hope the appetite for travel (to Japan) will return."
For the nine months ending in December, revenues from its international flight operations grew by 9.1 percent, while revenues from its domestic flight operations increased by 7.3 percent.
Passengers of international flights in the same period increased 8.2 percent to around 6 million and those of domestic flights rose 7.4 percent to around 29 million.
JAL maintained its earnings forecast for the current business year through March, with net profits expected to grow 7.4 percent to 115 billion yen and sales forecast to increase 7.2 percent to 1.98 trillion yen.
It said the same day the Development Bank of Japan was considering acquiring a stake in Jetstar Japan Co., a budget carrier and JAL affiliate, with major shareholder Qantas Airways Ltd. selling all of its shares.
"We hope to enhance corporate value," Saito said, adding that JAL hopes to announce the new brand in October this year.
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