In spite of high passenger growth, Norwegian is showing a negative net result in the first qualter with a deficit of 1.5 billlion kroner.
Higher fuel costs, tough competition and a stronger krone are much blamed for the poor performance for the months January to March.
According to Norwegian , a late Easter also led to a shift of income over to April from March last year.
“In this quarter, we particularly noticed the effects of higher fuel costs combined with a strengthened krone against British pounds, euros and Swedish kroner, which accounts for almost half of our sales.
In addition, the figures are affected by the fact that Easter was not in the first quarter, as it was last year, says CEO Bjørn Kjos.
In total, the low-cost company had a net profit of minus 1,492 million NOK , compared with minus 800 million in the same quarter last year. 6.7 million passengers travelled with Norwegian in the first quarter, an increase of 14 per cent from last year. The company emphasizes that the first quarter is a seasonal period.
The company launched 39 new routes in the first quarter, including between the United States and Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Norway. During this quarter, the company put seven brand new Boeings 737-800 and a Boeing 787-9 into traffic.
Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today
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