Air New Zealand has posted a $152 million profit for the second half of 2018, an $80m drop on the previous six months.
The after tax profit for the six months to December 31 was a 35 per cent drop from the $232m posted for the first six months of 2018 and the airline is warning of more headwinds in the future.
In a statement to the New Zealand stock exchange (NZX) on Thursday the airline’s chairman Tony Carter thanked its 12,000 staff for their hard work during “a very challenging operational period for the airline”.
Recent route launches to Chicago and Taipei had performed ahead of expectations, he said.
Air New Zealand chief executive Christopher Luxon said the rate of growth in the New Zealand market was slowing from previous years to be more in-line with other developed markets.