Page 12 - bne_newspaper_April_26_2019

bne Invest
April 26, 2019 www.intellinews.com I Page 12
Russian carrier Aeroflot is China’s favorite for third year in a row
Russian national air carrier Aeroflot has been recognised as the favourite international airline in China for the third consecutive year at the ceremony in Shanghai, the company said in a press-release on April 23.
The award is granted by the jury and by votes from frequent flyers and travellers. The key competitive advantages of Aeroflot that gained it the award are the high service quality and flexible fare policy.
“The recognition of Aeroflot as the Favourite International Airline in China is confirmation of the effectiveness of our strategic efforts in China,” Aeroflot CEO Vitaly Saveliev said in the press
release, boasting about a wide route network and one of the youngest fleets in the world.
Further development of service on Europe-Asia transit routes – one of the most competitive aviation markets globally – is one of Aeroflot’s key goals, along with the active expansion of the domestic route network, the CEO said.
Aeroflot serves four key locations in China: Bei- jing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Guangzhou, while recently signing a partnership agreement with Alipay, China’s leading payment system. The com- pany was also awarded the Best China – Europe Transit Airline at the 2019 Stars Awards in China.
Russian Railways profit drops four-fold in 2018
Net IFRS profit of Russian Railways (RZD) dropped four-fold year-on-year in 2018 from RUB139.7bn to RUB35.4bn ($529mn), Vedomosti daily reported citing a briefing by deputy head of the company Vadim Mikhailov.
The revenues of Russia’s railroad monopoly increased by 7.2% to RUB2.41 trillion, while Ebitda inched up by 6.4% year-on-year to RUB527bn.
The drop in net profit was attributed to higher fuel costs, indexing salaries of the workers, and non- cash losses on asset revaluation.
Revenues in 2018 increased mostly on higher income from cargo transportation and fees
on access to infrastructure. RZD’s long-term development programme previously estimated
net profit at RUB34.8bn, Ebitda at RUB452bn, and revenues at RUB2.37 trillion, which the company narrowly outperformed. Net profit by 2025 is seen rising to RUB186bn, with revenues up to RUB3.51 trillion.
Investment in 2018 increased from RUB529bn to RUB617bn, mostly linked to renewing the train fleet and infrastructure security measures. Total investment planned in 2019-2025 in railroad projects stands at RUB8.66 trillion, out of which RUB4.67 trillion would be RZD’s own funds.
Despite expected cost and operating efficiency improvements under the company's new president Oleg Belozerov, earlier reports warned that RZD might still need to rely on government support.