WestJet Fourth-Quarter Profit Declines Amid Higher Fuel Costs
February 08, 2012, 12:03 PM ESTBy Frederic Tomesco
Feb. 8 (Bloomberg) -- WestJet Airlines Ltd., Canada’s second-largest carrier, posted a 4.3 percent drop in fourth- quarter profit amid higher fuel costs.
Net income was C$35.6 million ($35.8 million), or 26 cents a share, compared with C$37.2 million, or 26 cents, a year earlier, the Calgary-based discount airline said today in a statement. Revenue climbed 13 percent to C$781.5 million.
The average fuel cost in the quarter climbed 26 percent to 92 cents per liter, excluding hedging, WestJet said. The carrier lowered its earnings for the year-earlier period to comply with International Financial Reporting Standards.
WestJet said today that 91 percent of employees backed the creation of a short-haul regional airline. The new business, which may start as early as next year, would serve new cities and increase revenue.
The airline boosted its quarterly dividend by a penny to 6 cents a share. WestJet said it would buy back as much as 5 percent of outstanding shares within the next year.
The carrier controls 36 percent of the Canadian regional air travel market, compared with 56 percent for Montreal-based Air Canada and its affiliates, according to estimates in a UBS Securities Canada report published Jan. 30.
--Editors: James Langford, James Callan
To contact the reporter for this story: Frederic Tomesco in Montreal at tomesco@bloomberg.net;
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Ed Dufner at edufner@bloomberg.net
