Fuel derivatives boost Transat bottom line, revenue up from year ago

MONTREAL — Travel company Transat AT Inc. reported a profit in its latest quarter compared with a loss a year ago boosted by non-cash gains related to its hedging program.

The company says its profit attributable to shareholders amounted to $6.7 million or 18 cents per share compared with a loss of $8.4 million or 23 cents per share a year ago.

Excluding non-operating items, Transat says it had an adjusted loss of $4.5 million or 12 cents per share for the quarter compared with a loss of $8.1 million or 22 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

Revenue for the quarter ended April 30 totalled $902.0 million, compared with $884.3 million in the same quarter a year ago.

Transat says the increase in revenue was driven by a 4.8 per cent rise in the number of travellers in the sun destination market and 10.7 per cent in the transatlantic market.

In its outlook, the company warned higher fuel costs could hurt its results. It says if current trends hold it expects its global results for the second half of its financial year will be lower than last year.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TRZ)

The Canadian Press