WestJet Airlines has racked up its 20th consecutive profitable quarter during a turbulent time for the aviation sector.
The no-frills carrier last week released financial results indicating net earnings of $9.4 million or 20 cents a share on revenue of $132.9 million in the fourth quarter.
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| Clive Beddoe |
The profits, which substantially exceeded analysts’ expectations for the period ending Dec. 31, compare to $8.2 million or 19 cents a share on $93.7 million for the same period in 2000.
Annual profits were $37.2 million or 81 cents a share last year, up from $30.3 million or 72 cents the previous year.
The strong earnings come at a time when many airlines are posting financial losses, especially in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States and a global economic downtown.
“Despite a challenging fourth quarter for both WestJet and our industry as a whole, 2001 ended extremely positively for our airline,” said WestJet president and CEO Clive Beddoe.
“Though our industry has never experienced as devastating a blow as it did on the days and weeks that followed Sept. 11, we at WestJet have been extremely encouraged by the speed in which business has returned.”
Beddoe also noted the airline has added new routes and reduced prices to help get Canadians back into the skies, and said in a recent conference call it hopes to broaden its network to include Toronto this summer. He said WestJet has launched a fleet-renewal program that will boost capacity by 40 per cent this year.
“We are looking forward to 2002 and another exceptional year for WestJet as we capitalize on new opportunities in the Canadian airline industry, and find new ways to increase our efficiency, decrease our costs and improve our profitability,” Beddoe said.
WestJet, which has recently launched routes in Eastern Canada, serves 20 Canadian cities and was to begin flying to London, Ont., this week.
