Air NZ earnings boost on track

Photo / Richard Robinson

Air New Zealand says it is on track to boost earnings by 20 per cent for the first half of the year.

This would push pre-tax earnings up to $166.8 million for the six months.

"The company has made good progress year to date and remains on target to exceed last year's earnings for the full year," the airline said.

It said it made the forecast now it had sufficient confidence in the expected outcome of the important December month and greater certainty around the costs for voluntary redundancy following recent labour contract settlements.

The airline said redundancy costs are estimated at $10 million.

In the past financial year earnings before tax were $256 million, up 172 per cent on the previous year.

Air New Zealand's profit update comes days after Australian airline Qantas warned of an underlying loss before tax in the range of A$250 million to A$300 million for the six months ending December 31.