Norwegian delivered a profit before tax (EBT) of over NOK 2 billion in the third quarter of 2023.
Norwegian recorded a remarkable profit before tax (EBT) of NOK 2,050 million in the third quarter of 2023. This is the second-best quarterly result in the company’s 21-year history. Both operationally and financially, Norwegian had a highly successful summer. It also achieved outstanding punctuality and regularity, setting a new European standard.
During the third quarter of 2023, Norwegian reported an operating profit (EBIT) of NOK 2,170 million. This resulted in an impressive EBIT margin of 25%. It is the highest operating profit the company has achieved since the third quarter of 2019. This comes despite Norwegian operating a fleet half the size. The profit before tax (EBT) amounted to NOK 2,050 million.
In passenger numbers, Norwegian served 6.5 million travelers during the quarter. This is an increase compared to the 6.1 million passengers in the third quarter of 2022. The production (ASK) reached 10.4 billion seat kilometers, with passenger traffic (RPK) totaling 9.1 billion seat kilometers. The operation experienced 20% growth compared to the previous quarter as Norwegian expanded its capacity during the peak summer season. The quarterly load factor was 87.4%, slightly lower than the 88.8% reported in the same period last year.
Outstanding Punctuality and Regularity in Europe
Norwegian achieved remarkable punctuality, with 80.1 percent of its flights departing on schedule. That’s up from 73.6 percent in the same period last year. According to monthly data compiled by Cirium, a global aviation consultancy, Norwegian consistently ranks among the top three most punctual airlines in Europe. Moreover, the regularity performance was exceptional at 99.6 percent, the highest level in nearly two years.
“Thanks to the outstanding effort of the entire Norwegian team, we can look back at one of the best quarters in our 21-year history. I am very satisfied that our financial results are strong. We have also delivered an operational performance as one of the absolute top airlines in Europe with a remarkably low number of cancellations and strong on-time performance. Positive feedback from customers shows that Norwegian is the airline they can trust, which is something everyone at Norwegian has worked towards. We were also able to serve all customers the Norwegian way, solely relying on our own crew and aircraft to ensure that they got the Norwegian experience throughout the whole journey. I am confident that we are well prepared to enter into the quieter winter trading period with reduced capacity among other actions,” said Geir Karlsen, CEO of Norwegian.
Norwegian Is Ready for the Winter Season and Beyond
With the upcoming acquisition of Widerøe and the introduction of a new loyalty program in partnership with Strawberry, Norwegian is set to become an even more popular travel option in the Nordic region. The airline is prepared for winter and beyond.
“While many consumers are impacted by the current high inflation and interest rates, our customers continue to prioritise air travel. Current ticket sales are slightly reduced as expected in accordance with seasonality. Nevertheless, we continue to attract an increasing number of Nordic travellers who wish to fly with Norwegian, both for leisure and corporate purposes,” said Karlsen.
Norwegian is set to expand its aircraft fleet to around 90 planes for the upcoming summer of 2024. The airline has already released its initial summer schedule for booking. It will unveil more routes to exciting new destinations later this month.