Turkish Airlines posts loss due to parity fluctuations, regional risks

“The political and economic instabilities over its operating environment and increasing perceived global and regional risks in Turkey and Europe have had a negative impact on aviation demand and placed additional pressure on yields on a seasonally low quarter. On the other hand, low fuel prices imply increased market capacity and increased competition also reflecting on ticket prices and total revenue,” said the company in a written statement to the Public Disclosure Platform late May 9.

The first quarter results represent a major loss year on year, as the airline posted a net profit of 373 million liras in the first three months of 2015.

In a presentation to investors, the company said geopolitical risks and security concerns had negatively impacted direct traffic into Turkey.

Group cancellations to/from Europe were seen due to security concerns as well as from the Far East, especially Japan and China, added the company.

The company said its sales revenue rose to 6.43 billion liras in the first quarter, an 18 percent of increase compared to the same period of 2015. Its sales revenue, however, saw a 1 percent decrease to around $2.2 billion on the dollar-basis during the period. Turkish Airlines posted $306 million in expenditures from the forex-based financial transactions in the first quarter.