OREANDA-NEWS. August 3, 2007.UTair Aviation (UTair Aviation, JSC) has released its financial results for the first six months of 2007. The airline’s revenue surged 39.1 percent to nearly RUR9.054bn (approx. USD353.7m) in the period in question from around RUR6.509bn (approx. USD254.3m) in the first half of 2006.

The prime cost of services provided by the airline rose 33.5 percent year on year to nearly RUR8.389bn (approx. USD327.7m).

With revenue growth outpacing the increase in spending, compared to the same period in 2006, the company’s operating surplus rose considerably. The profit from the airline’s core operations lept 4.4-fold to RUR665.866m (approx. USD26.01m) from RUR224.962m (approx. USD8.79m) a year ago. The return on sales also grew severalfold: from 3.5 percent in the first half of 2006 to 7.4 percent in 2007. It should be noted that the financial results are slightly above the approved target set out in the company’s H1 2007 business plan.

UTair Aviation’s assets have increased 38.1 percent since the beginning of the year, including a 11.7 percent rise in the worth of the company’s fixed assets due to further active fleet renewal and enlargement.

In the first half of 2007, the airline carried 1,254,415 passengers, 21 percent more than in the first six months of 2006. The company’s helicopters flew for 27,879 hours, 10.3 percent more than in the first half of 2006.