Highlights
- Strong and resilient growth amid volatile market conditions o Total revenue and other income was USD 1.2B (2022: 1.0B), an increase of 13.8% and 15.6% excluding extraordinary market event (EME)1
- Operating profit was USD 136.0M (2022: USD 148.7M), an increase of 12.9% excluding EME and gain from fuel hedging (FH)2
- Profit after tax was USD 68.7M (2022: USD 78.4M), an increase of 21.5% excluding EME and FH o RPK increased by 11.3% to 14.6B (2022: 13.2B) o ASK increased by 11.1% to 17.7B (2022: 15.9B) o RASK increased by 2.4% to US 6.6¢ or 4.0% excluding EME
• Record passenger numbers; fleet and network expansion across Air Astana and
FlyArystan o Total number of Group passengers carried increased by 10.1% to 8.1M with an average load factor of 82.8% (2022: 82.7%)
- Group fleet size expanded to 49 aircraft during the period (2022: 43 aircraft) o Number of flights increased to key destinations such as Turkey, India, Thailand, Uzbekistan, Georgia and the Gulf, and expanded number of flights to China with reinstatement of Beijing
- Group’s international network further expanded with new routes to Jeddah and Doha, as well as FlyArystan’s seasonal routes from regions to Antalya and Dubai
- High operational efficiency and industry-leading margins o Adjusted EBITDAR3 increased by 4.3% to USD 300.8M and by 15.7% excluding EME and FH
o Adjusted EBITDAR margin[1] remained stable at 25.6% (2022: 27.9% and 25.6% adjusted by EME and FH) o CASK of USD5.9¢ (2022: USD5.6¢)
- Adjusted EBITDAR for 2022 benefitted from the impact of partial mobilization in Russia which caused an extraordinary market event (EME), inflow citizens from Russia to and through Kazakhstan with impact of USD16.2M.
- Adjusted EBITDAR for 2022 benefitted from gain from fuel hedging (FH) in the amount of USD 12.1M.
- Defined as profit for the period before income tax (expense)/ benefit, finance income, finance costs, foreign exchange loss, net and depreciation and amortisation and lease costs (comprising aircraft variable lease charges, spare engine lease charges, lease of spare parts, property lease costs (office accommodation rent), rental of plant, machinery and ground equipment).
- Robust financial position o Cash as of 31 December 2023 was USD 274.0M (2022: USD 252.9M), equivalent to 23.3% of annual sales, excluding available facilities in the amount of USD 163.7M (pro forma liquidity ratio is 37.3%)
- Group NAD / Adjusted EBITDAR reduced to 1.5x (2022: 1.7x), driven by organic cash generation and reduction in year-end lease liability balance
- Lease liabilities decreased to USD 718.9M (2022: USD 732.8M), despite growth in fleet o The Company is at a very advanced stage in positive negotiations for an agreement with Pratt & Whitney that will provide compensation and other support
• Continued delivery of operational excellence o OTP was 79.5%, up 7.2% YoY
- Air Astana was awarded the Skytrax Award for “Best Airline in Central Asia and CIS” for the 11th time and was awarded “Best Service in Central Asia and CIS” for the second time. FlyArystan was awarded the Skytrax Award for “Best low-cost carrier in Central Asia and CIS” for the first time.
- Commissioned a new Flight Training Centre in Astana, equipped with the latest generation flight simulators and cabin crew training simulator, certified by the EASA
- Successfully completed the first six-year C-Check at the carrier’s engineering and technical centre in Astana and the ninth IOSA audit.
Peter Foster, CEO of Air Astana Group, said:
“We are pleased to report our first set of results as a public company following our successful IPO across three stock exchanges last month. Air Astana delivered another strong year of growth in 2023 with record passenger numbers and increased capacity. All our markets continue to perform well and we have demonstrated our ability to grow the business and maintain sector-leading margins while managing cost headwinds across the industry. As result, the Group EBITDAR excluding EME and FH has continued to expand by another 16% in 2023.
The Group is scaling its operations across both the full-service and low-cost carrier markets to gain market share and further develop our leadership position in our extended home market of Central Asia and the Caucasus, which is characterised by low air travel penetration. Our international customer base continues to evolve with an expanded network of destinations as we capitalise on our strategic location between air travel mega markets. This is underpinned by our young, modern, fuel-efficient fleet, which increased during 2023 with the net addition of six new aircraft to close the year with a fleet size of 49. This number has risen to 50 post period end and will increase to at least 56 by the end of 2024.
The IPO proceeds will enable us to further expand our operations and increase our carrying capacity. We are well positioned to capture the growth opportunities from developing the underserved aviation market in Kazakhstan and improving international connectivity.”
Operational and Financial Summary
| 2023 | 2022 | % YoY | |
| Passengers (millions) | 8.1 | 7.3 | 10.1% |
| Aircraft (end of period – fleet ) | 49 | 43 | 14.0% |
| Load factor | 82.8% | 82.7% | 0.1% |
| Revenue and other income (million USD) | 1,174.5 | 1,032.4 | 13.8% |
| excluding EME and FH | – | 1,016.2 | 15.6% |
| Adjusted EBITDAR (‘000 USD) | 300,794 | 288,382 | 4.3% |
| excluding EME and FH | – | 260,084 | 15.7% |
| ASK (billions) | 17.7 | 15.9 | 11.1% |
| RPK (billions) | 14.6 | 13.2 | 11.3% |
| RASK (US cents) | 6.64 | 6.48 | 2.4% |
| excluding EME and FH | – | 6.38 | 4.0% |
| CASK (US cents) | 5.87 | 5.55 | 5.8% |
| excluding EME and FH | – | 5.63 | 4.3% |
| Cash and bank balances (‘000 USD) | 274,006 | 252,888 | 8.4% |
| NAD (‘000 USD) | 445,299 | 492,012 | (9.5%) |
| OTP Group | 79.5% | 74.1% | 7.2% |
Outlook
The Group expects to report further growth in 2024, underpinned by increased capacity and fleet expansion. This comprises the net addition of seven aircraft, increasing the total fleet to 56 aircraft from 49 at 2023 year-end. The growth will be sustained across both brands, in particular at FlyArystan and on international routes.
The Group’s extended home market of Central Asia and Caucasus remains a leading growth opportunity, characterised by low penetration for air travel and the Group’s strong market position. In addition, nearby mega markets including China and India as well as lifestyle destinations in Asia, Gulf, Turkey and Europe present further growth opportunities for the Group.
While CASK is expected to outpace the RASK in 2024, the mid-term EBITDAR expectation is mid-tohigh 20s EBITDAR margin and the load factor to remain broadly consistent with 2023.
In the medium term, financial robustness is expected to continue, with the liquidity ratio above 25% and the leverage below 3.0x NAD/EBITDAR.
Conference Call
Management will host a presentation webcast and live Q&A conference call on 15 March 2024 at 10:00 UK time (15:00 Astana time). The 2023 results presentation and recording of the webcast will be made available on the Company’s website at https://ir.airastana.com.
[1] Defined as Adjusted EBITDAR expressed as a percentage of total revenue and other income.
