There are all smiles for Fornebu-headquartered Norwegian as they post their highest operating profit in the company’s history, a complete contrast from 2-3 years ago.
From undergoing significant restructuring a few years ago, to turning around record financial numbers, things are going very well for the airline.
Without further ado, let’s get into it…
All Smiles in Fornebu As Norwegian Posts Record Profits…
Fornebu-headquartered Norwegian posted an operating profit of NOK 2,232 million for last year’s continued run of operations from revenues of NOK 9.5 billion.
For the final quarter of the year, operating profits were recorded at NOK 328 million.
4.7m passengers were handled in the fourth-quarter also, with load factors three percentage points higher at 84.4%.
Commenting on the successful results was Geir Karlsen, CEO of Norwegian:
“I am thrilled to announce that Norwegian achieved all-time high profits for 2023. Our loyal customer base continued to grow, and we are grateful for their trust in us.”
“Colleagues across the entire company have worked tirelessly to ensure operational excellence, ranging from the planning of our network and services to everyday execution”.
From Ruin to Significant Success…
For the Fornebu-headquartered Norwegian, the successes being observed weren’t as prevalent as they were back in 2021, where things were actually quite different.
Back in 2021, they had to undergo significant restructuring due to the failures of their long-haul subsidiary, amongst other factors, which was approved by the courts in Oslo.
The issue back then was the fact that the airline didn’t have the financial characteristics to be a full low-cost carrier, and suffered considerable losses and affected their own competitive strength.
Even CEO Geir Karlsen admitted that Fornebu-based Norwegian were too aggressive in their plans at the time, as he said back in 2022:
“Back in 2017, 2018, and 2019, we had a lot of aircraft coming our way, meaning too many deliveries, both on narrowbodies and on widebodies as well.”
“The growth was too aggressive, way too aggressive. This time, we have the luxury of actually growing into demand.”
However, things have turned around for the airline, with their 2024 outlook aiming for operating profits to be in the range of NOK 2.5bn to NOK 3.2bn, which will be a lot higher than last year’s results overall.
All eyes will be on how the airline’s 2024 will perform moving forward.
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