ANA Holdings, the parent company of Japan’s All Nippon Airways, has announced that it will maintain its full-year earnings forecast for the current year, despite seeing a slight drop in half-year profitability. The carrier is crediting robust demand for inbound Japanese and domestic travel as the reason for remaining optimistic about the full-year result to the end of March 2025.
The company has revised its full-year revenue earnings figure upwards to Y2.22 trillion ($14.5 million) for the year ending March 31, 2025, compared to the Y2.2 trillion ($14.4 million) previously forecast. This revision follows better-than-expected results for both the carriage of passengers and cargo, a trend that the carrier is expecting to continue throughout the rest of the current financial year.
The airline group also posted its highest-ever half-year operating revenue in its latest financial report, revealing revenues falling just under the Y1.1 trillion mark ($7.2 billion) – an increase of around 9.7% over the same period in 2023.
However, despite the boost in revenue figures, upward pressures on operating costs and fuel prices are likely to mean that the carrier’s full-year profit forecast remains unchanged. The company has stated that it remains on track to record an operating profit of Y170 billion ($1.11 billion) for the year ending March 31, 2025. This remains consistent with previous forecasts for the current financial year.
ANA Holdings reported a 13.6% increase in operating costs, up to Y991 billion ($6.54 billion), putting this down to “higher maintenance costs, investment in human resources, and other factors”.
For the six months ending September 30, 2024, ANA Holdings reported an operating profit of Y108 billion ($707 million). This figure represents a decrease of 16.5% compared to the same period in 2023 and is attributed to the airline’s costs rising faster than revenue. However, undeterred by this, ANA Holdings reports that operating profits are growing at a faster rate than had been forecast for the current year.
All Nippon Airways, ANA Holdings’ primary airline operator, saw carried passenger totals rise to 3.9 million during the first half of the financial year, an overall increase of 12.3% year-on-year. Capacity flown for the period increased by an average figure of 8%.
International passenger revenues reached their highest-ever level for the half-year period, topping off at a record high of Y390 billion (£2.5 billion). This figure represents an increase of 8% year-on-year for the first half of the current year.
According to the statement, this is a result of strong demand for both inbound and outbound business and leisure travel to destinations across Japan. Meanwhile, on the domestic front, ANA saw revenue grow by 7% year-on-year, against a 6% rise in passenger volumes.
All Nippon currently operates a fleet of 239 aircraft in its fleet, ranging from the De Havilland Canada DHC-8-Q400 to three Airbus A380s which seat 520 passengers in a four-class configuration.
Other group members
Elsewhere in the group, budget carrier Peach Aviation reported a 5.8% increase in revenues for the first half-year period. This was the result of the carrier prioritizing its international route network, as well as deploying its fleet of 36 Airbus A320 family aircraft on more lucrative international routes rather than on domestic services. Overall, the carrier saw a slight drop in passenger numbers during the period.
To meet seasonal demand, Peach operated the Kansai to Memanbetsu route and Kansai to Kushiro routes for a limited period during the first half of the year, despite the reduction in operations due to aircraft availability. In terms of service, Peach introduced its ‘Peach BAGGAGE TAG KIOSK’ in September 2024, which allows passengers to issue their own baggage tags as a means of improving convenience and customer experience.
Lastly, AirJapan, the group’s low-cost long-haul division and newest member, which started operations in February 2024, held a summer sale to stimulate demand from Japan-bound passengers in addition to those visiting Japan. AirJapan also launched QR code payments for airline tickets in Japan, as well as in Thailand and South Korea, the countries in which AirJapan operates.
Air Japan currently operates a pair of Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners which seat 324 passengers in an all-economy layout.