SATA Group companies register positive results in 2012

In financial year 2012, the companies making up the SATA Group had a positive performance, contributing to a positive net consolidated result of 73 thousand euros for the Group.

The positive net consolidated result for the SATA Group is the sum of the individual results of Sata SGPS, with one thousand euros; Sata Air Açores, with 11 thousand euros (before consolidating the results of the subsidiaries), which comes to about 0.03 euros per passenger carried; SATA Internacional, with 12 thousand euros (corresponding to 0.02 euros per passenger carried); SATA Gestão de Aeródromos, with 32 mil euros; Azores Express, with 3 thousand euros; and SATA Express, with 14 thousand euros.

Despite the significant increases in important cost components, such as those related to financial expenses and fuel, it is important to note the continued reduction in unit costs, resulting from a transverse strategy implemented throughout the entire SATA Group. This strategy allowed SATA Air Açores and SATA Internacional to register in 2012 the lowest unit costs (CASM-cost per available seat mile, excluding the cost of fuel) in recent years: 0.36 euros for SATA Air Açores and 0.042 euros for SATA Internacional.

The operating results for the two companies also rose, in the case of SATA Air Açores, increasing from 3 million 153 thousand euros in 2011, to 5 million 246 thousand euros in 2012 and for SATA Internacional, from 438 thousand euros in 2011, to 1 million 916 thousand euros in 2012.

Similarly, the EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes and Depreciation) grew in both companies. At SATA Air Açores these earnings rose from 13 million 263 thousand euros to 13 million 725 thousand euros, increasing 3%, whilst at SATA Internacional, they grew by 25%, from 2 million 871 thousand euros to 3 million 582 thousand euros.

But the significant increase in financial costs – with the resulting severe deterioration of the financial results – due on the one hand to the sharply increased tightening of conditions for financing implemented by the entire banking system, together with the increased needs of credits from available cash, prevented the net results from growing in line with the improved operating results.

The SATA Group registered lower figures in its operations in 2012, with a drop of 5% in the number of flights (in actual numbers: 1,075 fewer flights), whilst the decrease in the number of passengers (-116,222) corresponds to a variation of -8.6% in the number of passengers carried, in relation to 2011.

According to António Gomes de Menezes, Chairman of the SATA Group, “the results achieved in 2012 were only possible, thanks to the involvement and commitment of all the employees and all the SATA teams who, understanding and interiorising the difficult economic situation we are all going through, gave their best so that we could achieve very competitive unit cost levels, which resulted in the increase in operating results.” António Gomes de Menezes underscores the fact that “in 2013 the SATA Group will pursue its strategy that is based on two essential vectors: the reduction of the unit cost to reinforce the company’s competitiveness and the reinforcement of the internationalisation of the SATA network at the service of the Azores.”