Provided by WESTJET, an Alberta Partnership/CNW
CALGARY, July 26, 2019 /CNW/ – WestJet (TSX: WJA) today announced its second quarter results for 2019, with net earnings of $44.3 million, or $0.38 per fully diluted share compared with a net loss of $15.8 million, or $0.14 per fully diluted share reported in the second quarter of 2018.
“We are very pleased with this significant return to second quarter profitability.” said WestJet President & CEO Ed Sims. “I want to acknowledge the remarkable effort of all 14,000 WestJetters who rose to the challenge of delivering this notable improvement in year over year performance and thank all of our guests for their continued loyalty.”
Operating highlights* (stated in Canadian dollars)
| Q2 2019 | Q2 2018 | Change | |
| Net earnings (millions) | $44.3 | ($15.8) | 379.8% |
| Diluted earnings per share | $0.38 | ($0.14) | 371.4% |
| Total revenue (millions) | $1,212.9 | $1,087.6 | 11.5% |
| Operating margin | 3.5% | (0.7%) | 4.2 pts. |
| ASMs (available seat miles) (billions) | 8.145 | 7.922 | 2.8% |
| RPMs (revenue passenger miles) (billions) | 7.099 | 6.646 | 6.8% |
| Load factor | 87.2% | 83.9% | 3.3 pts. |
| Segment guests | 6,493,802 | 6,276,226 | 3.5% |
| Yield (revenue per revenue passenger mile) (cents) | 17.09 | 16.36 | 4.5% |
| RASM (revenue per available seat mile) (cents) | 14.89 | 13.73 | 8.5% |
| CASM (cost per available seat mile) (cents) | 14.38 | 13.84 | 3.9% |
| Fuel costs per litre (cents) | 81 | 81 | – |
| CASM, excluding fuel and employee profit share (cents)* | 10.66 | 10.06 | 6.0% |
| *Refer to reconciliations in the accompanying tables for further information regarding calculations. |
Dividend declaration
On July 26, 2019, WestJet’s Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $0.14 per common voting share and variable voting share for the third quarter of 2019, to be paid on September 30, 2019, to shareholders of record on September 11, 2019. All dividends paid by WestJet are, pursuant to subsection 89(14) of the Income Tax Act, designated as eligible dividends, unless indicated otherwise. An eligible dividend paid to a Canadian resident is entitled to the enhanced dividend tax credit.