OREANDA-NEWS. PJSC Aeroflot (Moscow Exchange ticker: AFLT) today published its financial results for the year ending 31 December 2016 in accordance with Russian Accounting Standards (RAS). RAS results are presented on a non-consolidated basis.

Key results for FY 2016:

Revenue was RUB 427,901 million, up 16.8% year-on-year, driven by expansion of the route network and growth in operational results, including an 11.0% year-on-year increase in passenger numbers for FY 2016.

Cost of sales was RUB 371,563 million, up 17.5% year-on-year. This was due to growth in the volume of operations and fleet expansion, as well as currency effects on FX-denominated costs.

Gross profit increased by 12.8% year-on-year to RUB 56,338 million as a result of the factors mentioned above.

Net income for the year was RUB 30,617 million, compared to a loss in the previous year. This was due to an increase in operational results, as well as additional income generated by efficient fleet management. The change in RAS net profit for FY 2016 compared to the result for 9M 2016 was due to the seasonal effect in 4Q and the strengthening of the RUB exchange rate in the quarter, which affected the amount of revenue received in foreign currency.

Basic earnings per share for FY 2016 were RUB 27.57.

Shamil Kurmashov, PJSC Aeroflot Deputy CEO for Commerce and Finance, commented:

"Today we have published our Russian Accounting Standards financial results for 2016. The strong financial results were primarily driven by our excellent operational performance, with passenger numbers and the load factor both increasing year-on-year. Aeroflot’s 2016 passenger numbers grew by 11.0% year-on-year, to 29.0 million passengers, while the load factor rose by 2.0 percentage points year-on-year to 81.2%.

"Effective capacity management against the backdrop of an overall improvement in the economic situation, combined with income from effective fleet management and FX rates on the return of deposits paid for aircraft deliveries, as well as other one-offs, combined with strict cost controls, enabled us to deliver solid financial results, including RAS net income of RUB 30.6 billion for 2016."