Air Astana’s revenue jumps 12%

In 2024, Air Astana, Kazakhstan’s national airline, and its low-cost subsidiary FlyArystan generated $1.3 billion in revenue, a 12.4% increase year-on-year (YoY), according to the company’s statements posted on the Astana International Exchange (AIX) website. The growth was driven by passenger and cargo revenues, as well as an aircraft engine leaseback operation.

Passenger service revenue totaled $1.2 billion, up from $1.1 billion in 2023, while cargo revenue rose to $26.3 million from $22.5 million the previous year. The group also earned $25 million from its aircraft engine operations. According to financial statements for the first six months of 2024, Air Astana bought, sold and leased back an engine within a single month. Unlike a typical leaseback transaction, this deal involved selling the engine immediately after purchase. By the end of the year, the airline had completed two additional similar transactions. Moreover, an engine purchased in April was sold in December and subsequently leased back.

Despite revenue growth, Air Astana’s expenses increased by 13.5% to $1.2 billion. As a result, the carrier’s annual profit declined 23.1% to $52.7 million.

The report highlights that Air Astana successfully executed its strategic plan in 2024, achieving significant growth and a record number of passengers carried. The combined performance of Air Astana and FlyArystan totaled 9 million passengers, an increase of 1 million YoY.

«We achieved strong growth in our first year as a public company, fulfilling our promises set out at IPO despite the capacity and cost challenges impacting the wider industry,» said Peter Foster, CEO of Air Astana.

The company’s board of directors has proposed to the general meeting of shareholders the payment of the first dividends in corporate history, along with special dividends, totaling approximately $0.11 per common share and $0.43 per global depositary receipt (GDR), with each GDR representing four shares.

Air Astana’s management had previously pledged to pay dividends the year following its initial public offering. As of the 2024 IPO results, Samruk-Kazyna is Air Astana’s largest shareholder, with a 41% stake. Citibank holds 23.27% of the securities in nominal custody, issuing depositary receipts for the shares. BAE Systems, a British aerospace company, owns 16.95%, and Kazakhstan’s Unified Accumulative Pension Fund (UAPF) holds 6.51%.