Air New Zealand expects its first-half profit before tax to be about 20% higher than for the same period last year, despite redundancy costs of $10 million.
In the six months ended December 2012, the airline lifted pre-tax profit nearly three-fold to $141 million. It expects that to lift to $166.8 million this year.
Forsyth Barr analyst Rob Mercer said the outlook was favourable for Air New Zealand but, being an airline, it was still a high-risk investment.
"We see good value and we expect it to perform but it is an airline so things could change. External things can impact on it fairly quickly," Mr Mercer said.
However, the profit outlook was good and there was an improving global picture with high but relatively stable fuel prices. The airlines would also reap the benefits of its new fleet.
Mr Mercer is forecasting Air New Zealand's full-year pre-tax profit to be about $225 million.
