Air New Zealand first-half profit drops 38%

(Reuters) - Air New Zealand reported a 38% drop in its half-yearly profit on Thursday, impacted by inflationary pressures and ongoing supply chain issues, primarily the Pratt & Whitney engine maintenance requirements on the company's A321neo fleet.

The airline reported statutory profit before tax of NZ$185 million ($114.18 million) for the six months ended Dec. 31, lower than NZ$299 million reported a year earlier.

It declared an unimputed ordinary interim dividend of 2.0 New Zealand cents per share.

($1 = 1.6202 New Zealand dollars)

(Reporting by Adwitiya Srivastava and Rajasik Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)