TOKYO: ANA Holdings Inc. is expected to report a record ordinary loss for the nine months ended Dec. 31 due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, informed sources told Jiji Press on Tuesday.

The Japanese airline is believed to have swung to a consolidated ordinary loss of over 300 billion yen in the April-December period from a profit of 122.5 billion yen a year before.

The All Nippon Airways parent is scheduled to post its April-December results on Jan. 29.

The number of passengers on ANA’s international flights in the October-December quarter fell over 90 pct from a year before due to pandemic-related travel restrictions.

For domestic flights, the number of passengers recovered in November to some 50 pct of the year-before level thanks to the Japanese government’s Go To Travel tourism promotion initiative. But the figure fell to some 40 pct toward the year-end due to the suspension of the program following a resurgence of the virus.

The company has been struggling with high aircraft maintenance and personnel costs.

Its financial estimates released in October called for an ordinary loss of 500 billion yen and a net loss of 510 billion yen for the full year ending in March.

The government’s declaration of a coronavirus state of emergency earlier this month is expected to drastically dampen passenger demand in the January-March quarter.

But ANA may not lower its earnings forecasts given its freight business’ stronger-than-expected performance thanks to transportation of smartphones and expensive electronics equipment, the sources said.

The company plans to slash costs by 400 billion yen by the end of March 2022 through structural reform efforts, including sending personnel on loan to firms outside the group, cutting the average annual income of All Nippon Airways employees by 30 pct and reducing the number of its aircraft.

JIJI Press