Norwegian Air FY23 net profit increases 73%

Norwegian Air has reported a strong net profit for the full year 2023, with share prices jumping 9.51% as of 13:24 CET following the report. The company reported a net profit of $165.1 million for 2023, up 73% from $95.6 million in 2022. The fourth quarter results were strong with a net profit of $14.5 million following a net loss of $11.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2022. Operating revenue was also strong with a 35% increase in 2023 year-over-year to $2.4bn. Fourth quarter operating revenue increased 19% YOY at $560.9 million. Load factor for the year increased 1.6 percentage points to 84.7% and by three percentage points in the fourth quarter to 84.4%. The company had acquired Norwegian regional carrier Wideroe in January 2024 along with its 48 aircraft. ""We are now in the process of onboarding Wideroe as part of the Norwegian group,"" said Norwegian CEO Geir Karlsen. The report said the acquisition ""will enable the linking of complementary route networks, create significant operational synergies and provide Norwegian with additional diversification through Wideroe's substantial public service obligation operations."" Karlsen said in an earnings presentation that it was ""a little bit early to give estimates on when the synergies will kick in."" Looking to the coming year's guidance, he added: ""The focus in Wideroe today, hopefully it's a little conservative meaning that it looks better for 2024... we are in the middle of February it's very early in the year... but as for today it looks promising."" The board of directors intends to propose a dividend of 0.60 Norwegian crowns ($0.057) per share. The company expects a 12% capacity increase in 2024 along with operating profit (EBIT) to be between $237.1 million and $303.5 million for the year, excluding Wideroe profit.