| China Southern Airlines Announces 2003 Annual Results (Hong Kong, 25 April 2004) ¨C China Southern Airlines Company Limited (¡°China Southern Airlines¡± or the ¡°Company¡±) together with its subsidiaries (collectively, the ¡°Group¡±) announced the audited consolidated results of the Group for the year ended 31 December 2003 (the ¡°Year¡±), prepared in accordance with the PRC Accounting Rules and Regulations (¡°PRC GAAP¡±) and International Financial Reporting Standards (¡°IFRS¡±). In accordance with PRC GAAP, the Group¡¯s revenue from principal operations was approximately RMB17,351 million; net profit was approximately RMB14.488 million. In accordance with IFRS, the Group¡¯s total operating revenue was approximately RMB17,470 million; loss attributable to shareholders was approximately RMB358 million. Basic loss per share was RMB0.09 (2002 basic earnings per share: RMB0.17). The Board of Directors of the Company did not recommend any final dividend for the year 2003. Mr. Yan Zhi Qing, the Company¡¯s Chairman, said, ¡°In 2003, the Group encountered unprecedented challenges and difficulties. The outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (¡°SARS¡±) caused a drop in the Group¡¯s passenger volume and passenger load factor, resulting in decreases in revenue passenger kilometres (¡°RPK¡±) for April, May and June of 2003 by 40%, 83.5% and 61.5%, respectively, as compared to corresponding periods last year. In order to minimise the negative impact brought by SARS, the Group has implemented various measures to adjust its operating capacity, including reducing the number of flights and suspending certain routes to cope with reduced air traffic demand caused by SARS.¡± In order to alleviate the financial pressure suffered by the PRC civil aviation industry as a result of the SARS epidemic, the PRC government waived the levies of the CAAC Infrastructure Development Fund, sales tax and related supplementary taxes on passenger revenue payable by the airline companies during the period from 1 May 2003 to 31 December 2003. Although the SARS epidemic has caused decreases in the Group¡¯s total passenger revenue, total number of passengers carried and RPKs, the Group¡¯s passenger yield increased by 5.6% to RMB0.57 for the Year. In addition, cargo and mail revenue recorded an increase of 9.5% to RMB1,955 million in 2003 with the opening of two international cargo routes in 2002. The Group successfully issued 1,000,000,000 A shares in the PRC domestic market and listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in July 2003, raising aggregate proceeds of RMB2,700 million. Such proceeds have been applied to acquire the new model of Boeing 737 series and related flight equipment. The successful fund raising exercise has provided the Group with additional capital resources for future development which has in turn improved the Group¡¯s assets quality and strengthened its operating capacity. Dealing with the challenges encountered during the Year, the Group continued to enhance the standards of its safety and services. As a result, the Group once again received the Golden Roc Cup, the highest award for flight safety in the civil aviation industry, and won the Five-star Diamond Award for flight services in 2003.
Looking ahead, Mr. Yan Zhi Qing said, ¡°With the implementation of the ¡®Pricing Reform Plan for the Domestic Civil Aviation Industry¡¯ on 20 April 2004, China¡¯s airlines are able to determine their own airfares within the price ranges set by the government pricing authorities based on the changes in supply and demand of the market, and will adopt more flexible sales policies with an objective of maximising economic benefits. We believe that our business will achieve further growth through fair and positive competition in a gradually regulated and orderly market.¡± Mr. Yan concluded, ¡°With the implementation of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement between mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, and the State¡¯s policies on the overall development of the Western region and revitalisation of the old industrial base of Northeast China, we believe that there will be a perfect opportunity for the Group to grow its business.¡± The Group is one of the largest airlines in the PRC in terms of volume of passenger traffic, number of scheduled flights per week, number of hours flown, route networks and size of aircraft fleet. The Group operates the most extensive route network among all PRC airlines. As at 31 December 2003, the Group operated a total of 334 routes, of which 274 were domestic, 18 were Hong Kong regional and 42 were international. For the year ended 31 December 2003, the Group operated an average of 4,118 scheduled flights per week, serving 94 destinations. As at 31 December 2003, the Group operated a fleet of 132 aircraft, of which 108 were Boeing aircraft and 24 were Airbus aircraft. Encl. 1. Audited Consolidated Income Statement (Prepared in accordance with PRC GAAP) 2. Audited Consolidated Profit and Loss Account (Prepared in accordance with IFRS) 3. Difference between financial results prepared under IFRS and PRC GAAP For enquiries, please contact: Mr. Su Liang China Southern Airlines Company Limited Tel: (8620) 8612 4738 Fax: (8620) 8665 9040 E-mail: IR.CZ@csair.com Mr. Jeff Ruffolo Senior Advisor International Public Relations China Southern Airlines Tel: 909 734-6141 Fax: 909 734-6146 E-Mail: Ruffolopr@aol.com China Southern Airlines Company LimitedAudited Consolidated Income Statement For the Year ended 31 December 2003 (in accordance with the PRC Accounting Rules and Regulations)
China Southern Airlines Company LimitedAudited Consolidated Profit and Loss Account For the Year ended 31 December 2003 (in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards)
China Southern Airlines Company LimitedAudited Financial Results Difference between financial results prepared under IFRS and PRC GAAP
|