ANA Holdings Inc. reported lower air cargo volumes in the six months that ended September as the impact of the continuing Russia-Ukraine war impacted Europe flights but the Japanese carrier said revenue for the business reached the "highest ever" for the first half.

ANA noted that international cargo traffic volume for the period reached 2.202 billion tonnes, down 12.5% compared to the same period in 2021 when it reported 2.516 billion tonnes. 

Nonetheless, revenue for the segment was up 32.6% to ¥183.5 billion (US$1.24 billion) during the six months that ended September 30, 2022, from ¥138.5 billion.

 Source: ANA

"International cargo volume was down from the same period of the previous year due to the impact of conflict in Ukraine on Europe flights as well as a decline in demand for goods such as automotive parts," ANA said in a statement.

"However, international cargo revenue increased by 1.3 times compared to the previous year behind strong yield performance as well as efforts to expand flight operations on highly profitable North America routes and to capture high-yield cargo such as oversized commercial products, leading to the highest ever first-half revenue," it added.

In general, ANA said in the first six months of the fiscal year 2022 (April 1, 2022 - September 30, 2022), the Japanese economy has been recovering, with corporate earnings generally improving and personal consumption gradually picking up.

In the airline industry, it added that overall passenger demand is "rapidly recovering," with eased travel restrictions on domestic flights, as well as fewer entry restrictions in various countries for international flights.

"Under these economic and operating conditions, the increased revenue is mainly due to the air transportation business that contributed to an operating revenue of ¥790.7 billion for the six months ended September 30, 2022," ANA said.

Meanwhile, ANA Holdings recorded an operating income of ¥31.4 billion, an ordinary income of ¥30.2 billion, and a net income attributable to owners of the parent was ¥19.5 billion — marking the first time in three years that ANA HD has recorded a net profit in the first half of the fiscal year.

"The positive results of the first half of the fiscal year demonstrate the progress we have made since the pandemic began and the determination and effort of our employees to help put the ANA Group in a favourable financial and operational position," said Kimihiro Nakahori, executive vice president and group chief financial officer.