Aeroflot posts 9M 2009 Net Profit of $170 million

Aeroflot, Russia’s largest airline, has posted a 9M net profit of $170 million under IFRS.

The bottom line is up by 21% from the $137 million net result posted for 9M 2008, despite 9M EBITDA falling by 11% year on year to $403 million, as 9M Revenues slumped by 31% from a year earlier to $2.46 billion .

The company mostly attributed the better Net Result to a decline in financing expenses, which fell to $19 million from $74 million a year ago, which was coupled with a decrease in the effective tax rate to 38% compared to 45% for 9M 2008. It also noted that the increase had reflected anti-crisis measures and renewed demand for aviation transport.

Aeroflot’s management was upbeat, saying it expected passenger turnover to jump by 32% in 2010 year on year while the passenger load factor should be 72%. Andrey Rozhkov from IFC Metropol is less optimistic, but sure about Aeroflot’s equity.

“Both figures are overly optimistic, in our view. We believe that reported results as well as the company outlook will be a trigger for the stock.”