Norwegian (NAS) has reported a result (EBT) of 1.6 billion NOK (£149 million) for the third quarter 2018. The company continued to reduce its unit costs despite a capacity growth of 33%. Going forward, the growth will abate, consequently further reducing unit cost.
The net profit for the third quarter was 1.3 billion NOK (£121 million), an improvement of 18% compared to the same quarter last year. The company’s unit costs excluding fuel have decreased by 10% this quarter. The total revenue increased by 33% to 13.4 billion NOK (£1.2 billion). In total, approximately 11 million passengers chose to travel with Norwegian in the third quarter – an increase of 11%. The load factor remained high at 90.5% compared to 91.7% last year.
Norwegian has made significant investments in recent years, with the establishment of new bases internationally and in new markets; recruitment of several thousand employees – primarily pilots and cabin crew – the launch of many new routes and increase of frequencies on well-established routes. The strong international footprint has for instance contributed to the United States now representing the largest market after Norway in terms of total revenue.