WestJet reports second quarter net earnings
26-Jul-2016 Airline achieves 45th consecutive profitable quarter and flies a record number of guests
Completes a US$400 million investment grade unsecured notes offering
WestJet (TSX: WJA) today announced its second quarter results for 2016, with net earnings of $36.7 million, or $0.30 per fully diluted share, as compared with the net earnings of $61.6 million, or $0.49 per fully diluted share reported in the second quarter of 2015. WestJet achieved its 45th consecutive quarter of profitability and flew a record 5.3 million guests. Based on the trailing twelve months, the airline recorded a return on invested capital of 11.4 per cent, down 1.4 percentage points from the 12.8 per cent reported in the previous quarter.
"Despite the continuing economic weakness in Alberta, I am very pleased with the positive momentum we are seeing in our business including strengthening topline revenue growth. Our fundamentals remain strong, as highlighted by our recent US$400 million investment grade unsecured notes offering, and we are confident that the strategic initiatives we are pursuing position us for continued profitable growth," said WestJet President and CEO Gregg Saretsky. "My thanks go out to our almost 12,000 WestJetters for their continued energy and efforts in delivering our brand of friendly caring service to our guests."
Operating highlights (stated in Canadian dollars)
|
Q2 2016 |
Q2 2015 |
Change |
Year-to-
|
Year-to-
|
Change |
|
|
Net earnings (millions) |
$36.7 |
$61.6 |
(40.5%) |
$124.3 |
$202.3 |
(38.6%) |
|
Diluted earnings per share |
$0.30 |
$0.49 |
(38.8%) |
$1.02 |
$1.58 |
(35.4%) |
|
Total revenue (millions) |
$949.3 |
$942.0 |
0.8% |
$1,980.8 |
$2,025.5 |
(2.2%) |
|
Operating margin |
6.5% |
10.7% |
(4.2 pts) |
9.3% |
14.7% |
(5.4 pts) |
|
ASMs (available seat miles) (billions) |
7.116 |
6.655 |
6.9% |
14.410 |
13.473 |
7.0% |
|
RPMs (revenue passenger miles) (billions) |
5.749 |
5.199 |
10.6% |
11.737 |
10.765 |
9.0% |
|
Load factor |
80.8% |
78.1% |
2.7 pts |
81.5% |
79.9% |
1.6 pts |
|
Segment guests |
5,301,338 |
4,956,488 |
7.0% |
10,626,444 |
9,871,067 |
7.7% |
|
Yield (revenue per revenue passenger mile) (cents) |
16.51 |
18.12 |
(8.9%) |
16.88 |
18.82 |
(10.3%) |
|
RASM (revenue per available seat mile) (cents) |
13.34 |
14.16 |
(5.8%) |
13.75 |
15.03 |
(8.5%) |
|
CASM (cost per available seat mile) (cents) |
12.48 |
12.65 |
(1.3%) |
12.46 |
12.83 |
(2.9%) |
|
CASM, excluding fuel and employee profit share (cents)* |
9.93 |
9.28 |
7.0% |
9.89 |
9.23 |
7.2% |
|
*Refer to reconciliations in the accompanying tables for further information regarding calculations. |
Dividend declaration
On July 25, 2016, WestJet's Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $0.14 per common voting share and variable voting share for the third quarter of 2016, to be paid on September 30, 2016, to shareholders of record on September 14, 2016. All dividends paid by WestJet are, pursuant to subsection 89(14) of the Income Tax Act, designated as eligible dividends, unless indicated otherwise. An eligible dividend paid to a Canadian resident is entitled to the enhanced dividend tax credit.
Refer to full documentation in attachments box, located at the top left, below the headline.
Download Files
There are files associated with this article. You can download them below.
You need to be logged in to download files.