WestJet triumphs with best quarter performance in its history

Canada’s low-fare airline WestJet has managed its best quarter in history, reporting record net earnings of $52.8 million, an increase of 74.5 per cent compared to $30.3 million in the third quarter 2005.

The first nine months of 2006 resulted in net earnings of $88 million, an increase of 283.3 per cent over $23 million in 2005. The airline also stated that earnings per share was also record-breaking at 41 cents, as compared to 24 cents in the three months ended September 30, 2005; while record year-to-date earnings per share increased to 68 cents from 18 cents in the same period 2005.

Sean Durfy, president, WestJet said, “The results are a record for WestJet. When combined with the strong results from the first two quarters of the year, our year-to-date net earnings grew to $88 million, a strong increase of 283.3 per cent from 2005’s $23 million.”

“A significant accomplishment for this quarter was our ability to control costs. CASM, excluding fuel, was down 1.1 per cent this quarter. This was a result of prudent cost management in all areas of the organization; the cost efficiency of operating and maintaining our fleet of Boeing Next-Generation 737 aircraft; and our use of technology, including self-serve kiosks and web check-in,” said Durfy.

“In addition to growing our financial numbers and controlling costs, we continue to experience a significant increase in our brand health and our guest loyalty measures, which continue to be key drivers in our growth equation and something each WestJet employee works towards increasing.”

Revenues grew this quarter to $502.6 million, an increase of 23.8 per cent, compared to $406.1 million in the same period in 2005. Year-to-date revenue grew to $1.3 billion, an increase of 28.1 per cent, compared to $1.0 billion in 2005.

The airline stated that revenue per available seat mile (RASM) grew 5.6 per cent for the quarter from 14.4 cents to 15.2 cents; and 10.9 per cent for the year to 14.3 cents from 12.9 cents in 2005. Load factor for the quarter increased to 80.5 per cent from 78.6 per cent, an increase of 1.9 points. These gains occurred while capacity, measured in ASMs, increased to 3.31 billion from 2.82 billion, a 17.3 per cent increase.