NORWAY: Norwegian reports a second quarter profit of $56 million, load factor increases to 85%

Norwegian today reported its second quarter results for 2015. The pre-tax result (EBT) was 456 million NOK ($56.0 million), an improvement of 593 million NOK ($72.8 million) from the previous year. The load factor for this period was 85 percent with strong progress in all of Norwegian’s markets. This also applies to the long-haul operation, where the load factor was over 90 percent and the passenger number has more than doubled since the same period last year.

The load factor for the second quarter was 85 percent, up five percentage points from the same quarter last year. Norwegian’s long-haul operation had an even higher load factor of 91 percent. During the second quarter, the airline carried 324,000 passengers on its long-haul network. This means that passenger figures for the long-haul operation has more than doubled since the same period last year, where the passenger number was 139,000. Norwegian currently operates 434 routes in Europe, USA and Asia – 21 of which are long-haul routes. All in all, Norwegian has 28 long-haul destinations for sale, with more to come within just a few weeks, including London Gatwick – Boston.

During the second quarter, Norwegian took delivery of a new 787 Dreamliner and two Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Today, Norwegian has a long-haul fleet of eight Dreamliner aircraft. Four more Dreamliners will be added to the fleet next year; all of which will be a bigger version of the ones Norwegian operates today.

Solid growth in all markets

Seven million passengers chose to travel with Norwegian in the second quarter – an increase of nine percent. Norwegian’s strongest growth in terms of passenger numbers was at London Gatwick, with Oslo Airport as a close runner up. The Spanish airports are also experiencing a solid rise in number of Norwegian-passengers. During this quarter, Norwegian has launched domestic routes in Spain, new routes to the Caribbean, as well as new routes between the Caribbean and the cities of Boston, New York and Washington DC.

Despite a weak Norwegian krone, the unit costs are down, ensuring the company’s competitiveness in the future. The fuel prices have decreased, which more than outweighs the effects of a weak Norwegian krone. New aircraft consume considerably less fuel than older aircraft, which gives Norwegian a significant competitive advantage. Norwegian boasts one of the world’s youngest aircraft fleets with an average age of just four years.

During the second quarter, Norwegian’s total revenue was almost 5.9 BNOK, up 16 percent from the same quarter last year. Norwegian’s long-haul routes had a revenue growth of 60 percent. Norwegian’s production growth (ASK) for this quarter was 8 percent, while the company’s traffic growth (RPK) was 15 percent, which reflects that each of Norwegian’s passengers on average flies significantly longer than they did before. In addition, more and more passengers are purchasing optional extras on board.

Copyright Photo: Keith Burton/AirlinersGallery.com. Norwegian is phasing out the last of the older and less fuel efficient Boeing 737-300s. The last of the type is expected to be retired at the end of the current summer season. Boeing 737-31S LN-KHB (msn 29264) is pictured departing at Southend.