Aeroflot Group plans to finish 2016 with profit — company's head

The Aeroflot Group plans to end 2016 with a profit under Russian Accounting Standards (RAS) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), said Head of the Aeroflot Group Vitaliy Saveliev told reporters on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday. The company has no plans to borrow internationally in 2016, has moderate debt burden, Saveliev said. "Our net debt stands at 3.4% of EBITDA, which is a normal and manageable level, so we don’t need any international borrowings this year," he said. According to him Aeroflot Group plans to increase its passenger traffic in 2016 by 13.5 percent, Aeroflot Company - by 14 percent. "I am going based on the plan that the Aeroflot Group will have 13.5% increase, and for now for Aeroflot growth of approximately 14%," he said. In April 2016, Saveliev said that according to the business plan, the Group is expecting a 3 billion ruble loss ($45.9 mln) according to IFRS in 2016. The group finished 2015 with a net loss of 6.5 billion rubles ($99 mln). Dividends for 2016 Saveliev said Aeroflot Group might pay dividends for 2016. He noted that the company could pay dividends by the end of last year, but the company has invested in the transport of Transaero passengers. "Aeroflot has shown good results last year, and if it was not for Transaero story, which required us to invest 17 biln rubles ($259.74 mln) in the transportation of the company’s passengers, we would have payed dividends this year," he said.