Transat AT’s shares lost more than 9% after the unveiling of its financial results. The airline saw potential revenue slip through its fingers during the holidays and in January while the threat of a strike sowed anxiety among travelers.
“There was a clear correlation on our reservations, unfortunately,” concedes the president and CEO of Transat, Annick Guérard, during a conference call on Thursday to discuss the quarterly results.
“We have seen a clear decline in our bookings at different times,” she explains. First, after the vote on a strike mandate in November. Afterwards, we saw a sharp increase in reservations after the signing of the two agreements in principle. We saw a significant slowdown after the rejection of the agreement in principle. »
The Montreal company also revealed that problems with Pratt & Whitney engines also resulted in additional operational costs.
At a time when the industry is recovering, Transat widened its loss from $56.6 million to $61 million in the first quarter ended January 31. Revenues, for their part, were up 17.7% to $785.5 million. The diluted loss per share is $2.11.
Before the results were released, analysts expected revenue of $797 million and an adjusted diluted loss per share of $1.22, according to financial data firm Refinitiv.
Transat shares lost 39 cents, or 9.2%, to $3.85 on the Toronto Stock Exchange in the morning.