Japan Airlines (JAL) has announced its interim financial results for the fiscal year ending March 2027 (April through September 2026). Net profit totaled ¥39.066 billion, down 42.2% year on year.
Revenue increased 11.7% year on year to ¥1.0989 trillion, while earnings before finance costs and income taxes (EBIT) fell 36.0% to ¥70.1 billion. Operating expenses rose 16.5% to ¥1.0382 trillion. Of this amount, fuel costs increased significantly by 47.4% to ¥285.6 billion. Higher fuel prices resulting from heightened tensions in the Middle East and the continued weakening of the Japanese yen pushed up costs.
Meanwhile, international services saw continued inbound tourism demand, business travel demand from Japan, and demand related to AI and semiconductors. Higher fuel surcharges and effective revenue management also led to a substantial increase in unit revenue. On domestic services, JAL improved unit revenue by capturing passengers during high-demand periods and through flexible revenue management.
By segment, the full-service carrier business reported revenue of ¥884.9 billion, up 14.2% year on year, and EBIT of ¥41.6 billion, down 45.3%. International revenue totaled ¥534.4 billion, up 20.6%, including passenger revenue of ¥426.6 billion, up 16.0%, and cargo and mail revenue of ¥106.9 billion, up 43.7%. Domestic revenue was ¥337.4 billion, up 5.8%.
In traffic results, the number of revenue passengers on international services was 3,863,532, down 3.1% year on year, while the passenger load factor was 82.8%, down 2.7 percentage points. On domestic services, revenue passengers totaled 18,698,333, down 2.2%, and the passenger load factor was 82.8%, down 0.2 percentage points.
The LCC business recorded revenue of ¥65.8 billion, up 11.4% year on year, and EBIT of ¥1.8 billion, down 73.0%. ZIPAIR Tokyo carried 710,451 revenue passengers, up 5.3%, with a passenger load factor of 87.8%, up 14.2 percentage points. Spring Japan carried 452,503 revenue passengers, down 21.6%, with a passenger load factor of 86.2%, down 3.0 percentage points.
The mileage, financial and commerce business secured higher earnings, with revenue rising 12.7% year on year to ¥121.6 billion and EBIT increasing 5.4% to ¥22.2 billion, supporting the profitability of the group as a whole. In addition to growth in JAL Card transaction volumes, the number of miles issued in non-aviation businesses increased as partnerships with overseas financial service providers, including Capital One and Bilt Rewards, expanded.
Total assets at the end of the first half stood at ¥3.3176 trillion, an increase of ¥118.8 billion from the end of the previous fiscal year. Equity totaled ¥1.5431 trillion, up ¥208.4 billion, partly due to the issuance of bond-type class shares. The equity ratio attributable to owners of the parent was 45.1%. Cash and cash equivalents stood at ¥1.0341 trillion.
JAL maintained its full-year forecast of revenue of ¥2.095 trillion, up 4.1% year on year; EBIT of ¥180 billion, down 17.4%; and profit attributable to owners of the parent of ¥110 billion, down 20.1%.
JAL resolved to pay an interim dividend of ¥48 per common share and ¥131.50 per first-series bond-type class share.
