Air Mauritius posts profits of EUR 9.3 million for the Financial Year 2010/11

The financial year ending 31st March 2011 confirms the recovery of Air Mauritius in a
rather difficult economic environment. Against the backdrop of a slow yet unequal
worldwide economic upturn during the course of the financial year, the European recovery
remained a challenge. The period was marked by several events which impacted on air
travel: volcanic ash in April 2010 and snow storms in December 2010 in Europe; Middle
East/North Africa crisis beginning of 2011, tsunami and its aftermath in Japan in March
2011, to name but a few.

The airline industry managed to generate profits to the tune of USD 18 billion at the end of
the year 2010. However, since the beginning of the year, the disaster in Japan and the
Middle East / North Africa uprisings triggered a new surge in oil prices adversely
impacting the airline industry.

Net improvement in 2010-11 Results
In spite of the challenging context, Air Mauritius posts net profits of EUR 9.3 million for the
financial year 2010-2011, against a loss of EUR 6.9 million over the previous year, or a net
improvement of over EUR 16.2 million. The number of passengers uplifted rose by 14.3%
to reach 1,295,235 close to the record number of passengers carried during the pre-crisis
period. The load factor of 79.8% further confirms the ability of the company to optimise its
fleet and operations.

The company also posts a positive operational result of EUR 14.3 million. However, this
performance is less than the previous year’s due to the hike in fuel prices and the impact
of the euro/dollar exchange rate. Both factors contributed to the fuel expenditure increase
of EUR 35.5m over the previous financial year.

Shareholder funds reached EUR 119 million on 31st March 2011 – an improvement of EUR
13.8m compared to the same period last year hence strengthening the balance sheet and
confirming the financial health of the airline.

Positive results for the fourth quarter in spite of all challenges
The last quarter of the year (January-March 2011) has been particularly marked by
international events and soaring fuel prices, resulting in increased pressure on the airline
and travel industry. The rise in price of fuel by 36% increased the fuel bill by EUR 11.1m,
impacting negatively on the performance of the company.

The airline has been able to face these difficult conditions as a result of aggressive
commercial strategies and effective fleet management. With an uplift of 345,000
passengers during the last quarter, (an increase of 8.4% over the previous year) and a load
factor of 78.5%, Air Mauritius managed to post net profits of EUR 3.9m – an increase of
EUR 3.3m compared to the fourth quarter of the previous year.

Outlook for financial year 2011-2012
In the light of many uncertainties, in particular the sharp increase in fuel prices, IATA
recently revised the profit outlook of the industry drastically by half.

Europe, the main market for both Mauritius and Air Mauritius, is still struggling with erratic
economic conditions, with some countries faced with quasi bankruptcy situations and
unprecedented recovery plans – a situation which could even jeopardise the economic
growth of the whole European Union.

In this context, and especially with the price of Jet fuel again reaching near record levels,
Air Mauritius’ performance is already under pressure with increase in costs and challenges
in the various markets especially the European ones. Air Mauritius therefore remains
particularly cautious for the current financial year.

The Company will pursue its growth strategy, harnessing all new opportunities while
supporting the tourism industry in its development, and thereby continue to fully play its
role as the national airline. The Shanghai operations this year is a clear indication of the
company’s growing focus on the emerging markets – a strategy which is also aligned with
the Government’s objective of rebalancing growth with particular attention to these
markets.

2011 will be yet another challenging year. The company will need to continually focus on
efficiency while being bold enough to maintain the path of growth.