WestJet profit drops 46%
Last Updated: Wednesday, November 04, 2009 | 11:51 AM EST
Financial Post
OTTAWA -- Discount airline WestJet announced Wednesday that profit in the third quarter dropped to $31.4-million, or 24 cents a share, from $57.9-million, or 45 cents a share in the third quarter of 2008.
Revenue fell to $600.6-million from $718.4-million a year ago.
“For more than a year now, economic instability has been eroding consumer confidence. The third quarter saw continued scrutiny from price-sensitive Canadians, resulting in airlines stimulating demand through aggressive pricing,” said chief executive Sean Durfy.
“Relief from significantly lower fuel costs, compared to the same period in 2008, considerably off-set our drop in revenue.
“Our ability to successfully stimulate demand while keeping our controllable costs in line played an important part in our strong margins.”
The Calgary-based company said its operating margin fell from 14% in the third quarter of 2008 to 12.8% in the third quarter of 2009. It reported that its pre-tax margin was 8.3% compared with 11.5% in the same period a year ago.
The company said its load factor fell to 79.7% from 81.4%.
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