As the airline saw the number of passengers drop by 11% compared to the year before, the profit is attributed to EUR 7.6m in revenue from the sale of the Adria Airways brand.Adria Airways serviced a total of 1.1 million passengers in 2016, which is 10.99% less than in 2015. Cabin occupancy in scheduled transport was 65.51%, down from 67.95% in the year before, according to a report published on Monday.

Revenues amounted to EUR 155.23m, which is a 1.94% growth compared to 2015. Revenues from passenger transport were down by 6.27% to EUR 134.91m, while operating profit amounted to EUR 4.12m, up from an operating loss of EUR 9.37m in the year before.

The net profit in the amount of EUR 3.23m is attributed to one-off positive effects related to the sale of assets above the book value. There were also negative effects, including terrorist attacks and an engine failure on an Airbus at the peak of the summer season, the report says.

"If both positive and negative effects are excluded, the company nevertheless significantly reduced loss compared to 2015, which points to a successful start of restructuring of the company," said Adria Airways, which was acquired by the German fund 4k Invest in early 2016.

One of the positive effects was the sale of the Adria Airways brand for EUR 7.57m last December.

According to some unofficial reports, the 56-year-old brand was sold to 4K Invest, while other reports suggest that the new owner is the Slovenian government, which has acquired the brand in order to provide a necessary financial injection to the company.

At the end of last year, the flag carrier employed 396 people, which is down from 420 at the end of 2015.

Investments in aircraft last year amounted to EUR 2.6m, investments in other equipment EUR 400,000 and investments in real estate EUR 200,000.

Adria Airways plans for the number of passengers on scheduled flights to amount to a total of 1.14m this year, which would be a 13% growth compared to 2016, and reach cabin occupancy of 65.7%, which would be a one percentage point improvement.

The company expects to increase sales revenues by 8% on the account of a planned 11% rise in revenues from passenger transport. Revenue from cargo transport is expected to increase by 20% this year as the company has acquired a licence for hazardous goods.

Adria Airways has recently signed an agreement with Austrian Airlines under which the latter will lease two Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft (including cabin crew) to Adria Airways.

The aircraft capable of carrying up to 86 passengers will operate within the network of the Austrian flag carrier, with the planned destinations including Warsaw, Venice and Bucharest.