August 1 (SeeNews) - Croatia Airlines closed the first half of the year with a net loss of 89.4 million kuna ($13.4 million/12.0 million euro), compared with a loss of 79.6 million kuna in the like period of 2018, the state-owned flag carrier said.
Total revenues rose 1.6% on the year to 758.5 million kuna, while total costs went up by 2.6% to 847.9 million kuna in the period under review, the company said in its first-half financial report published on Wednesday.
In the second quarter alone, Croatia Airlines saw its net profit almost doubling to 9.1 million kuna from 4.9 million kuna in April-June 2018.
It transported 961,000 passengers in the first six months of 2019, up 1.3% on the year. In the second quarter alone, passenger numbers rose by an annual 3.4% to 615,000.
The company said that it held a 32% market share in the first five months of 2019, as Croatian airports registered a 10.4% annual increase in total passenger numbers in January-May to 2.7 million.
The airline also noted the seasonality of air transport in Croatia, with high levels of market competition in summer when an overall 100 airlines operate on the market versus only 15 in winter.
Croatia Airline said it remains active throughout the year, with more than half of all passengers travelling by air to Croatia are typically transported in the third quarter.
The company employed 1,040 people at the end of June. It operated a fleet of 12 airplanes in the first half of 2019.
The government decided in February to launch a procedure for selecting a strategic partner for Croatia Airlines. In April, it selected a consortium of Privredna Banka Zagreb (PBZ) and DVB Bank SE, which is part of Germany-based DZ BANK Group, to provide consultancy services for the planned recapitalisation of the flag carrier and to help it identify possible strategic partners.
At present, the preparation stage of the process is underway, including the financial valuation of the company.
(1 euro = 7.38213 kuna)