Norwegian lost NOK 763 million on operations

On Thursday morning, Norwegian presented first-quarter figures which showed an operating profit of minus NOK 763 million, compared to minus NOK 917 million in the same period last year. In comparison, the analyst corps had expected a negative operating profit of NOK 554 million.

Profit before tax ended at minus NOK 903 million, compared to NOK 917 million last year. In advance, the analysts expected a loss of NOK 724 million.

In the quarterly report, Norwegian writes that the bottom line was weighed down by NOK 126 million due to negative currency effects.

– The improvement from 2023 is a clear sign that our measures on both the income and cost side are working and taking us in the right direction. Furthermore, we have greatly increased capacity for the coming season. We look forward to flying our passengers to both new and existing destinations across Europe this summer, says CEO Geir Karlsen in a stock exchange announcement.

Lots of cash

Norwegian’s liquidity position improved to NOK 10.4 billion in the quarter, despite the fact that the acquisition of Widerøe has been completed.

In the first quarter, the Norwegian group flew a total of 4.8 million passengers, of which Widerøe accounted for 0.8 million of these.

For Norwegian, capacity was up 3 per cent from last year and down 13 per cent from the previous quarter when capacity was adjusted to match the seasonally lower demand.

The load factor for the quarter was up four percentage points for both airlines and ended up at 85 and 67 percent for Norwegian and Widerøe respectively. Winter weather and storms occasionally created difficult conditions for both companies, which led to a punctuality of 81.1 per cent for Norwegian and 80 per cent for Widerøe.

Shall create synergies

Norwegian completed the acquisition of Widerøe on 12 January this year. The first quarter of this year was also the last period of the previous FOT route agreement. On 1 April, the new agreements started, which involve a 50 per cent reduction in the maximum price and a six per cent increase in capacity for Widerøe.

– Together with the Widerøe organisation, we are looking at how the acquisition can create a much better offer for new and existing customers. This includes, among other things, that we look at how we can simplify the journey from all parts of Norway and all the way out into Europe, says Karlsen, and continues:

– We will create synergies together, both commercially and operationally, and have already seen benefits from the first measures. Furthermore, we look forward to how the new FOT route agreement will affect the rest of the year.

Norwegian’s fleet is expected to remain stable at 87 aircraft into the high season this summer, while the company expects capacity measured in seat kilometers to increase by 12 percent for the whole of 2024 compared to last year.

“Booking trends remain encouraging with many customers now booking their summer holidays, while business travelers appreciate the company’s strong operational operations. The curve of the duration of bookings has improved compared to the two previous years, which gives the company more visibility in bookings,” Norwegian writes in the quarterly report.