Air Canada Reports Record Third Quarter
Air Canada has reported record third quarter results with an adjusted net income of $457 million or $1.55 per diluted share compared to adjusted net income of $365 million or $1.29 per diluted share in the third quarter of 2013, an improvement of $92 million or $0.26 per diluted share.
Air Canada reported operating income of $526 million, an increase of $110 million from the same quarter in 2013. The airline recorded net income of $323 million or $1.10 per diluted share in the third quarter of 2014 compared to a net income of $299 million or $1.05 per diluted share in the third quarter of 2013, an improvement of $24 million or $0.05 per diluted share.
“I am extremely pleased to report Air Canada’s best financial performance of any quarter in the corporation’s 77-year history, surpassing previous records for adjusted net income, operating income and EBITDAR,” said Air Canada president Calin Rovinescu.
“Operating margin was 13.8%, an increase of 1.8 percentage points over the previous year’s quarter, underscoring the effectiveness of our business transformation strategy. The recent tailwind provided by a reduction in fuel prices is a welcome development, but we remain focused on further cost reductions to achieve sustainable profitability in this highly competitive industry environment. While foreign exchange rates and fuel prices have fluctuated since 2012, Air Canada remains on track to achieve the savings targeted when we announced our objective at our June 2013 Investors’ Day to achieve a 15% CASM reduction from our 2012 baseline costs.”
He added, “The ratification of a 10-year agreement with our pilots provides a strong foundation to support long term profitable growth. With this additional stability and competitiveness, we are able to accelerate our fleet initiatives and capital programs with the acquisition of an additional two Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. This will bring our Boeing 777 fleet to a total of 25 aircraft, all of which will be reconfigured to our new international cabin product standard now featured on the 787 Dreamliner aircraft entering our international fleet.”
