Regional Express $12.5m Profit down 32.6% 1H2013

Australian regional airline, Regional Express (ASX:REX) have announced its half year financial results for 2013 to its shareholders and investors on the Australian stockmarket.

• Regional Express had a net profit of $12.5 million, down 32.6 percent.
• REX had revenues of $135 million.
• First-half pre-tax profit dropped from $18.5 million to $12.5m
• Regional Express passenger numbers down from 608,499 to 577,873 and passenger loads fell below 60 per cent from 60.1% to 56.8%.
• Rex executive chairman Lim Kim Hai said, "Not only have policies like the carbon tax increased cost significantly, there has been a significant drop in passenger numbers due to government policies exacerbating the effects of the fragile global economy. Regional aviation has been hit particularly hard. Besides the Carbon tax and consistently high fuel prices, it was also the target of an onslaught of government fiscal and regulatory measures which resulted in the steep decline in the results we see today. Many regional carriers are now struggling for survival. If the government does not reverse tack very soon, we will see irreversible damage being inflicted by the destructive policies that they have adopted."
• Rex also operates air freight and charter operator Pel-Air, a Dubbo based airline called Air Link and a pilot academy.
• Regional Express did not declare a dividend distribution for this period.