The Board of Directors of Caribbean Airlines says the regional carrier has moved into an operating profit and is net income positive for the year.
In a statement on Friday, CAL said the unaudited accounts for the fiscal year ending December 2018 show Earnings Before Interest and Taxes (EBIT) of positive TT$111 million (One TT dollar =US$0.16 cents) comprising of TT$158 million on international and other operations, and negative TT$47 million on the domestic air bridge.
The combined net income resulted in an overall figure of TT$42 million comprising of $TT109 million on the international and other operations and a net loss of $TT67 million on the air bridge.
Total year-to-date revenues showed an improvement of eleven per cent year-on-year of TT$292 million.
The airline says fuel amounting to TT$597 million was a major expenditure for the same period, compared to TT$471 million in 2017 resulting in a year-on-year increase of TT$126 million, driven by a WTI (West Texas Intermediate) Oil price of US$64.94 per barrel from WTI US$50.88 per barrel in 2017.
“With the continuous improvement of our technological footprint and the meticulous, hard work of our employees, Caribbean Airlines is happy to confirm that it was able to record an operating profit in 2018 in contrast to a loss just two years ago. We consider this an exceptional achievement for our airline and for the Caribbean. The Board of Directors will continue to support the management team towards the sustainability of this commercial success in 2019 and beyond. We thank our employees for their dedication and our customers for their loyal support,” said Chairman S Ronnie Mohammed.
Chief Executive Officer, Garvin Medera noted, “The significant improvement in the financial results in 2018 is attributable in large part to our focus on an improved experience for customers, more efficient use of resources and better utilisation of the route network.