04 June 2004 22:47
Aeroflot not planning to buy assets this year (Part 2)
MOSCOW. June 4 (Interfax) - Aeroflot is not planning to acquire any assets this year.
"We are not planning to buy assets just for the sake of investing money," Mikhail Poluboyarinov, the
Russian flag carrier's deputy general director for finance and planning, told reporters.
Aeroflot saw a sharp drop in the volume of passenger flights in
spring 2003 due to the war in Iraq and SARS. Aeroflot had to quickly
rebuild its flight network to operate profitable flights and stop
Aeroflot's policy at the moment is to reduce its credit portfolio, Poluboyarinov said
Aeroflot's plan for 2004 is only to purchase five used Tu-154 planes and five machines for de-icing airplanes,
Poluboyarinov said.
He also said that 2003 was a test of the company's stability. Aeroflot went through a difficult period of
adjusting its flight network to increase profits. "The financial results show that the chosen strategy was
correct," Poluboyarinov said.
unprofitable ones. "We succeeded in this. We practically worked every month under an anti-crisis management
regime," Poluboyarinov said.
Despite the positive financial results for 2003, it is still too early to talk about zero operating profits.
Poluboyarinov said that Aeroflot annually receives $240 million-$250 million in compensation payments from foreign
airlines who fly over Siberia. "Therefore we are not yet talking about an operating zero," Poluboyarinov
said.
Aeroflot plans to continue work in 2004 on optimizing its flight network, finishing restructuring its fleet, starting
construction on the new Sheremetyevo-3 terminal, improving its corporate governance and raising the economic
effectiveness of the company's activities and also preparing to join the Sky Team alliance. [RU ASIA EUROPE EEU
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[Interfax] |
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