National airline Air Canada's first quarter revenue (Q1 2023) jumped $2.3bn year-on-year to a record of almost $4.9bn.
The company put the quarterly results, which included a 10% revenue increase compared to 2019, down to "higher passenger revenues due to increased travel demand".
Net income of $4 million was reported, though alongside a $17 million operating loss and adjusted net loss of $188 million, giving a diluted loss per share of 3 cents. The operating loss was a year-on-year improvement of over half a billion dollars.
Net debt stood at $6.5bn at the end of Q1 2023, down from the almost $7,5bn reported the end of Q4 2022.
The carrier spent $4.9bn during Q1 2023, almost $1.8bn more than in Q1 2022, with the increase put down to the airline being busier after the easing of Canada's Covid travel restrictions and to a 30% rise in the cost of fuel.
The reported earnings (adjusted EBITDA) of $411 million amounted to another roughly $500 million turnaround year-on-year. The carrier's net cash flows from operating activities topped $1.4bn for a year-on-year increase of around $1bn, with free cash flow of $987 million up by $896 million on Q1 2022.
The adjusted cost per available seat mile was 14.52 cents, a 6.9% improvement on Q1 2022 from the first quarter of 2022.
"Our first quarter financial results exceeded both internal and external expectations and we expect demand to persist, supported by strong advance bookings for the remainder of the year. For this reason, as well as lower-than-expected fuel costs, we increased our 2023 adjusted EBITDA guidance last week," said chief executive Michael Rousseau.