Air Canada narrows net loss to $260M in Q1; operating revenue down slightly

MONTREAL – Air Canada (TSX:AC.B) says it slightly narrowed its net loss in the first quarter as Canada’s largest airline pushed ahead with multi-faceted moves to streamline operations and reduce costs.

Air Canada said the loss in the quarter was $260 million or 95 cents per diluted share. That was down from a net loss of $274 million or 99 cents per share in the same 2012 quarter.

Operating revenues were $2.95 billion, down from $2.96 billion.

On an adjusted basis, the airline said its loss was $143 million or 52 cents per share, down from $162 million or 58 cents in the prior-year quarter.

“In the quarter we made progress towards the sustainable transformation of Air Canada by narrowing our net loss as compared to the previous year,” president and CEO Calin Rovinescu said in a statement.

However, Rovinescu said the results still “fell short of our expectations” due in part to a decline in premium travel demand.

“We are encouraged to see an improvement in second quarter economy- and premium-class cabin booking trends which are running above last year’s levels, although the yield environment remains challenging,” he said.

Meanwhile, Rovinescu said the airline remains focused on reducing its cost structure with the upcoming deliveries of five additional Boeing 777 aircraft, the launch of discount leisure carrier Rouge, the transfer of Embraer 175 regional aircraft to Sky Regional and the development of it international network with Toronto Pearson as its North American gateway airport.