EANS-News: Air Berlin PLC / Air Berlin increases profit

Hunold: More than pleased with the profit, Increased revenue per
passenger and per seat kilometer

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9-month report/Q3-figures 2009

Subtitle: Hunold: More than pleased with the profit, Increased
revenue per passenger and per seat kilometer

London/Berlin (euro adhoc) - In the third quarter of 2009, Air Berlin
PLC increased its net profit to EUR 95.2 million, i.e. an increase of
111 percent over the previous year's quarter. Despite a challenging
economic environment, operating profit improved by 33.5 percent to
EUR 118 million. Revenue decreased by 8.2 percent to EUR 974 million,
due to targeted capacity adjustments based on lower demand. As
Joachim Hunold, CEO of Air Berlin, stated: "Air Berlin is one of the
few airline companies that was able to improve profit in the third
quarter of 2009."

The "Jump" efficiency improvement program introduced in 2008 and
consistently adhered to in 2009 contributed significantly to the good
results obtained in the third quarter. Although the number of
passengers transported decreased slightly to 8.3 million (-4.1
percent) as a result of the financial and economic crisis, Air
Berlin's capacity adjustments enabled the company to counter the
effects of this decrease and show a good performance. This is all the
more remarkable in that the third quarter results were burdened by
three days of strike. Furthermore, the bomb attack on the island of
Majorca in July and the discussion surrounding the swine flu
temporarily dampened demand for this destination.

Revenue per passenger kilometer increased from 7.65 to 8.24
Eurocents, i.e. an increase of 7.7 percent. EBITDAR (Earnings before
interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and leasing expenses) for
the quarter under review reached EUR 228.7 million (Q3/2008: EUR 209
million). EBIT (Earnings before interest and taxes) increased by 33.5
percent to EUR 118 million (Q3/2008: EUR 88.4 million). The financial
results have been affected by proceeds from payments on a convertible
bond, amounting to approximately EUR 20 million. Furthermore, foreign
exchange losses were lower than in 2008. As a result, the financial
results significantly improved from EUR -15 million in 2008 to EUR
3.2 million. Net profit for the third quarter of 2009 reached EUR
95.2 million (Q3/2008: EUR 45.1 million). The previous year's figures
have been restated in accordance with valuation changes under IFRIC
13 ("Customer Loyalty Programmes").

The accumulated earnings for the first nine months of 2009 developed
in a positive manner. For the period from January to September 2009,
EBITDAR increased by 2.6 percent to EUR 390.7 million. At the end of
the third quarter 2009, EBIT improved by 49.4 percent to EUR 48.3
million. The decrease in leasing expenses is one of the reasons for
this improvement. Whereas net profit for the first nine months of
2008 amounted to EUR -7.1 million, net profit rose to EUR 13.8
million (+294 percent) for the 2009 period under review. For the
first nine months of 2009, the number of passengers welcomed on board
decreased by 5.1 percent to 21 million. Capacity utilization
decreased by 1.3 percentage points to 77.9 percent, due to the
capacity adjustment.

In the first nine months of 2009, Air Berlin's balance sheet
structure improved in a sustainable manner. Equity increased from 15
to 22 percent and liquidity improved from 11 to 18 percent. The
improvement in liquidity stems from operations as well as from the
implemented capital measures. The capital increase, the placement of
a new convertible bond and the partial redemption of an existing
convertible bond have resulted in a considerable decrease in net
indebtedness. From the beginning of January to the end of September
2009, net indebtedness decreased from EUR 762 million to EUR 548
million. Thus, the promise to lower net indebtedness to EUR 600
million by the end of the year has already been more than fulfilled.

On the occasion of the presentation of the quarterly figures, Joachim
Hunold, CEO of Air Berlin, stated in Berlin on Thursday: "We are more
than pleased with the results. Despite the generally difficult
economic environment, we have delivered attractive figures to our
shareholders. We continue to expect a positive operating income for
2009." Nevertheless, it is still too early to make a forecast for the
year 2010, due to the persistently challenging economic situation.

end of announcement euro adhoc
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ots Originaltext: Air Berlin PLC & Co Luftverkehrs KG
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Further inquiry note:

Hans-Christoph Noack

Director of Corporate Communications, Air Berlin

phone: +49 30 3434 1500

fax: +49 30 3434 1509

e-mail: abpresse@airberlin.com

Branche: Air Transport
ISIN: GB00B128C026
WKN: AB1000
Index: SDAX, Classic All Share, Prime All Share
Börsen: Frankfurt / regulated dealing/prime standard
Berlin / free trade
Hamburg / free trade
Stuttgart / free trade
Düsseldorf / free trade
München / free trade