Citing the performance to its fuel hedge positions and exchange variations as a consequence of the appreciation of the Brazilian currency, the real, against the US dollar, TAM Airlines announced it had closed 2009 with a net profits of R$1.3 billion (US$742.4 million).
TAM also highlighted that it made concentrated cost cuttings and the result was a 14.7 percent decrease in the unit costs of the seats offered (CASK โ cost per available seat kilometer).
Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) were R$336 million in 2009, a 51.8 percent decrease on the previous year. This was due to the combined effects of three factors caused by the global financial crisis: a reduction in the number of business trips flown; a decrease in yield (average price paid per passenger for each kilometer flown); and a reduction in the load factor on domestic and international flights.
Last year, TAM carried 30.4 million paying passengers on domestic and international flights, a slight increase of 0.9 percent in comparison to the total number of passengers transported in 2008.