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Transat A.T. inc., a holiday travel reference worldwide, particularly as an air carrier under the Air Transat brand, announces its results for the second quarter ended April 30, 2022.
“When the effect of Omicron subsided at the end of February, operations and sales rebounded strongly, allowing us to end the quarter on a very encouraging note and generate revenues of $358 million for the period. We foresee a strong recovery and will continue to implement all the measures necessary to capitalize on it,” stated Annick Guérard, President and Chief Executive Officer of Transat.
“Sales are progressing in a very satisfactory manner for the summer. The cost of fuel rose sharply, without which we would have reported positive adjusted operating results in April. Nonetheless, we observe that consumers are ready to accept price hikes and we have implemented a fuel hedging program to protect us against significant increases during the summer.”
“For the longer term, we continue to implement our strategic plan. While continuing to receive new fuel-efficient aircraft to the fleet, we continue to develop our network by adding new destinations and connections, with or without code sharing. We also benefit from our employees’ strong support, including our pilots with whom we have entered into a three-year agreement, ensuring stability for the coming period,” concluded Ms. Guérard.
Second quarter highlights
Compared with 2021, revenues for the quarter ended April 30, 2022 were up $350.6 million, driven by the significant resumption of operations after the effect of Omicron subsided at the end of February. Revenue growth in the quarter was dampened by the sharp decline in demand and massive booking cancellations following the emergence of the Omicron variant during the first quarter and the new restrictive measures put in place by the federal government on December 15, 2021. As a result, the Corporation initially cancelled nearly 30% of flights scheduled from January to the end of February. In addition, at the beginning of February, the Corporation cancelled more winter season flights, thereby reducing total winter season capacity by approximately 22% of the initially deployed capacity.
Operations resulted in an operating loss of $87.5 million, comparable to the $86.5 million loss in 2021, as fuel prices surged 75.5% during the quarter, compared with 2021. Transat reported an adjusted operating loss1 of $51.0 million, identical to the 2021 result.
Net loss attributable to shareholders amounted to $98.3 million or $2.60 per share (diluted) compared with $69.6 million or $1.84 per share (diluted) for the corresponding quarter of last year. The net loss attributable to shareholders in 2022 was marked by a $7.4 million foreign exchange loss and partially offset by a $22.2 million gain on long-term debt modification related to the renegotiation of the unsecured financing – LEEFF. The net loss attributable to shareholders in 2021 was mitigated by a $29.8 million foreign exchange gain. Foreign exchange gains and losses resulted mainly from the exchange effect on lease liabilities related to aircraft, following the fluctuations of the dollar against the U.S. dollar. Excluding non-operating items, Transat reported an adjusted net loss1 of $111.6 million ($2.95 per share) for the second quarter of 2022, compared with $103.3 million ($2.74 per share) in 2021.
Financial position
As at April 30, 2022, cash and cash equivalents amounted to $511.2 million, compared with $346.1 million at the same date in 2021. In total, the available financing amounted to a maximum of $863.3 million, of which $858.6 million was drawn down, for unrestricted liquidity1 of $515.9 million.
Customer deposits for future travel stood at $494.2 million, representing 80% of pre-pandemic levels (as at April 30, 2019) and up 60% from last quarter, reflecting the strong recovery in demand.
In addition, management is pursuing discussions with all current lenders, in a spirit of continued collaboration, regarding amendments to the existing financing agreements in order to ensure greater financial flexibility to the Corporation.
Continuing the recovery and implementing the strategic plan
The recovery that was temporarily slowed down by the Omicron variant is now firmly entrenched and the Corporation continues to implement its strategic plan and take the necessary measures to make the most of the rebound in demand, both for the summer and in the longer term.
- Rebuilding and developing the network with:
- the reopening of most of the pre-pandemic network routes
- codeshare agreements with WestJet (bookings now open) and Porter (opening scheduled for the fall)
- new destinations (particularly Los Angeles and San Francisco)
- new direct flights (such as Montréal-Amsterdam or Québec City-London)
- improved network operations through the addition of connections on existing routes to and from Europe and the United States (such as Paris-San Francisco or London-Los Angeles with a stopover in Montréal)
- numerous additional routes possible via the connectair by Air Transat platform through virtual interlining agreements with eight airline companies offering over 245 destinations in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, Central and South America, and Canada
With all these initiatives, the Corporation will offer more than 1,200 itineraries (including 550 with Transat) in summer 2022, compared with about 500 in 2019
- Receipt of two new A321neoLR aircraft during the summer and waiting for five on order which will allow the transformation and optimization of the fleet, bringing the number of aircraft of this type to 17
- Continuing efforts to control costs and limit the use of cash
- Introduction of a fuel hedging program to offset a potential further increase in prices during the summer
- Entering into an agreement in May 2022 with the Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA), representing all of Transat’s pilots, extending the term of their current collective agreement by three years.
Outlook
Following the recent announcements regarding the easing of health measures and travel restrictions by various governments in Canada and other countries, the current situation is showing very encouraging signs in terms of bookings as the last-minute booking trend persists. After the low reached during the Omicron wave, load factors have largely improved in recent months, reaching 85% on flights from March to May for the south destinations program, the Corporation’s main market for the period, which bodes well for the summer peak season. Selling prices of bookings for the summer season have been steadily increasing since the start of spring across all our programs.
Across all our markets, the planned capacity for summer 2022 represents 89% of the 2019 capacity. For the transatlantic program, the Corporation’s main market for the summer season, the planned capacity in 2022 is 75% of the 2019 levels. In the sun destinations program, the Corporation’s planned capacity represents 98% of the 2019 levels. Moreover, the Corporation plans to increase its presence in the transborder market by quadrupling its capacity compared with 2019 by offering, among other things, new flights from Montréal to Los Angeles and San Francisco. Lastly, the Corporation also plans to increase its capacity by 5% in the domestic market compared with 2019.
Fuel prices, if they remain at the current level, are however creating strong pressure on our operating costs and profitability. As discussed above, the Corporation is making every effort to offset these effects and improve its performance.
It remains difficult at this time to forecast the evolution of the health and economic situation or its impact on bookings and future financial results with sufficient precision for the Corporation to present a more comprehensive outlook for the third quarter and summer of 2022.
