Flybe reports £35.6m loss in first year of transformation

One-off costs and a charge for selling its Finland division have sent budget airline Flybe's profit plummeting as it reported a £35.6m ($55m, €48.4m) loss over the year ended 31 Mach, compared with an £8.1m profit the year before.

The year covered in the report was the first financial year in the company's three-year transformation plan, which explains the high one-off costs, Flybe said. The company added that it is now back on track and expects profitable growth in the near future.

Flybe has already cut dozens of jobs and made steps to reconfigure routes in order to cut costs in its transformation plan.

The company's share price fell by more than 2.64% before the open, but had climbed steeply by 2.23% by the time of publication (10am).

Overall revenue was down by 7.5% as well, but the £12m cost of the discontinued operation in Finland, which made a loss of £2.2m over the half-year ending September 2014, was the major component of the disappointing result.

Flybe exited the loss-making joint venture with Finnair in November 2014.

"We have just completed the first full financial year of our three year transformation plan," chief executive Saad Hammad said in a press release. "Despite a more challenging environment than anticipated, significant progress has been made.

"There is much more to do, but I am keen to put on record my thanks to all our pilots, cabin crew, engineers and everyone in the field and at HQ in Exeter for their commitment and effort. Flybe is back on track to recovery and profitable growth," Hammad added.