Norwegian lost almost twice as much in one quarter than it raised in its private offering and it is selling A320 NEOs. Yikes!
Norwegian raises $168 million to lift finances, warns of 1Q operating losses
Mar 21, 2018 Helen Massy-Beresford | ATW Plus
Norwegian Air Shuttle said it raised NOK1.3 billion ($168 million) in a private share placement as the LCC pushes ahead with its expansion amid rising fuel prices and currency effects, which are making for a “challenging” first quarter.
Norwegian has been shaking up the transatlantic travel market, using its rapidly growing fleet to launch new destinations and challenge legacy carriers on an important section of their networks with cheap tickets.
But on March 20, the LCC warned its first-quarter operating loss would be bigger than the same period last year at NOK2.3 billion, versus NOK1.7 billion, because of currency fluctuations and rising fuel costs.
“The average price for jet fuel in the first quarter 2018 is so far 12% higher than the assumption in the company’s current guidance, and the euro is 8% stronger than anticipated. Operations have also suffered from somewhat challenging weather conditions,” Norwegian said.
The carrier still expects capacity to increase 40% in 2018 and while it kept its prediction of unit costs excluding fuel unchanged for the full year, it said higher-than-expected fuel prices would lead to unit costs including depreciation rising to between NOK 0.415-0.42, up from a previous estimate of NOK 0.405 to 0.41.
Norwegian acting CFO Tore Ostby sounded a positive note about operational performance for the coming months on a conference call, during which the airline explained the proceeds of the placement would help fund its continued expansion: Norwegian launched flights between the UK and Argentina last month and plans to begin flying between Ireland and Canada this summer.
“We’re very comfortable on bookings and the market for the summer season,” Ostby said.
“We are very geared towards leisure and the summer season so with 100% growth in our long-haul operations at the same time as we have low season that is the explanation of our disappointing first quarter,” Ostby said. “Of course you will see that seasonality makes all the difference in the second and third quarters.”
He added: “2016 and 2017 were years of investment. This first half of 2018 is the final stage of the ramp-up of our long-haul operations so in the back-end of this year we will see that the growth of long-haul will gradually slow.”
Excluding fuel, the carrier is expecting unit costs to drop 10%-12% in 2018.
Norwegian is taking delivery of nine Boeing 787s in the first half of 2018, and expects to operate a fleet of 30 787s by summer, while capacity growth will slow in the second half with only two 787s scheduled for delivery. Ticket sales for intercontinental routes are growing faster than capacity, Norwegian said, adding that it expects single digit growth rates in the European short-haul network with stable demand growth.
The airline also said it is in discussions to sell up to five Airbus A320neos leased to HK Express with an estimated gain of $15-$20 million.
Norwegian has also initiated a review of strategic options for its frequent flyer program, Norwegian Reward, which has more than 7 million members and expected to rise to 9 million by the end of the year.
The airline will ask for approval to issue more shares with potential proceeds of up to NOK200 million at an extraordinary general meeting on or around April 4, it said.
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