Aeroflot doubles 2011 net profit to $491 mln

Russia's flagship airline Aeroflot saw its 2011 IFRS net profit double year on year to $491 million, the company said on Thursday. The net profit was above a consensus forecast of analysts polled by Prime news agency who expected the company’s net financial result at $347 million. The net profit growth resulted from the increased volume of operations, the sale of stakes in subsidiary companies and the result of swapping 52.8 percent of the shares of Terminal OJSC for the shares of Moscow Airport Sheremetyevo (MASH), the airline said. The airline’s revenues grew by 25 percent to $5.378 billion, beating analysts’ expectations of $5.294 billion. The company’s EBITDA contracted by 11 percent in 2011 year on year to $646 million, below analysts’ forecasts of $693 million.