Record fourth quarter passenger revenues of $4.062 billion, doubled than fourth quarter 2021 and about two per cent higher than fourth quarter 2019

Record fourth quarter operating revenues of $4.680 billion, 71 per cent higher than fourth quarter 2021 and about six per cent higher than fourth quarter 2019

Operating losses of $28 million in the fourth quarter of 2022 and of $187 million for the full year 2022 

Adjusted EBITDA^* of $389 million in the fourth quarter of 2022 and of $1.457 billion for the full year 2022

Adjusted EBITDA margin^* of 8.3 per cent for the fourth quarter of 2022 and of 8.8 per cent for the full year 2022

Total liquidity of over $9.8 billion at December 31, 2022

Air Canada reported its fourth quarter and full year 2022 financial results.

“We are pleased with our fourth quarter and full year 2022 financial results. We reported record fourth quarter passenger and operating revenues, surpassing our results from a year ago and those of the fourth quarter of 2019. This was due to solid demand and yield environments across our network. This progress was also a result of the dedication and hard work of our employees who safely transported more than two million customers during a holiday period challenged by severe winter weather across North America, and to our entire team who successfully executed on our strategy. I warmly thank them,” said Michael Rousseau, President and Chief Executive Officer of Air Canada.

(*Adjusted CASM, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, adjusted net income (loss), adjusted pre-tax income (loss), free cash flow, leverage ratio, net debt, and return on invested capital referred to in this news release, are non-GAAP financial measures, capital management measures, non-GAAP ratios or supplementary financial measures. Such measures are not recognized measures for financial statement presentation under GAAP, do not have standardized meanings, may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other entities and should not be considered a substitute for or superior to GAAP results. Refer to the “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” section of this news release for descriptions of these measures, and for a reconciliation of Air Canada non-GAAP measures used in this news release to the most comparable GAAP financial measure.)

“Our performance is attributable to the deep resilience we have built into our company for long-term stability. We reported positive cash flows from operations in the fourth quarter of $647 million and positive free cash flow of $320 million. We exercised diligent cost control. Our adjusted EBITDA of $389 million was $367 million better than a year ago. For the full year, we reported adjusted EBITDA of $1.457 billion and an adjusted EBITDA margin of 8.8 per cent, meeting our full-year 2022 guidance. We ended the year with total liquidity of more than $9.8 billion.

“These results also validate our strategy of diversifying our revenue sources. In our core passenger business, revenue was about two per cent higher than in the fourth quarter of 2019. Revenue from our premium cabins was about 13 per cent higher, supported in part by Aeroplan. The loyalty program’s active membership is at an all-time high and continues to grow, and Air Canada Cargo revenue was up 55 per cent compared to the same quarter pre-pandemic. Similarly, Air Canada Vacations ground package revenues contributed to the growth in other revenues of $62 million, or 23 per cent higher than the fourth quarter of 2019,” said Mr. Rousseau.

“We are very encouraged with the positive outlook ahead. Our quarterly ticket sales were 102 per cent of the fourth quarter of 2019, on a lower level of capacity, and we expect a solid demand environment in 2023. In anticipation, we are building out our global network, continuing our narrow-body fleet renewal, and investing in technology and customer service. More than 36 million people chose to fly with Air Canada last year. We appreciate and thank them for their loyalty. We intend to do much more to provide them with an elevated level of customer service and continuous value from our airline in 2023 and beyond.”

Fourth Quarter 2022 Financial Results

• Operating capacity, measured by Available Seat Miles (ASMs) increased about 59 per cent from the fourth quarter of 2021, representing about 85 per cent of the fourth quarter of 2019 ASMs, in line with projections in Air Canada’s third quarter 2022 earnings release, dated October 28, 2022.
• Record fourth quarter passenger revenues of $4.062 billion nearly doubled from the fourth quarter of 2021, or about a two per cent increase from the fourth quarter of 2019.
• Record fourth quarter operating revenues of $4.680 billion increased 71 per cent from the fourth quarter of 2021 and about six per cent from the fourth quarter of 2019.
• Operating expenses of $4.708 billion increased $1.474 billion from the fourth quarter of 2021.
• Cost per available seat mile (CASM) decreased to 21.1 cents from 23.0 cents in the fourth quarter of 2021.
• Adjusted cost per available seat mile^* (adjusted CASM) of 13.7 cents, compared to fourth quarter 2021 adjusted CASM of 16.7 cents. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2019, adjusted CASM increased about 15 per cent.
• Operating loss of $28 million, significantly better than an operating loss of $503 million in the fourth quarter of 2021.
• Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) of $389 million, an increase from adjusted EBITDA of $22 million in the fourth quarter of 2021.
• Net income of $168 million (or $0.41 per diluted share), compared to a net loss of $493 million (or $1.38 per diluted share) in the fourth quarter of 2021. Fourth quarter 2022 net income included a foreign exchange gain of $316 million.
• Adjusted net loss^* of $217 million (or $0.61 per diluted share), compared to an adjusted net loss of $577 million (or $1.61 per diluted share) in the fourth quarter of 2021.
• Net cash flows from operations of $647 million compared to net cash flows from operations of $508 million in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Full Year 2022 Financial Results

• Operating capacity, measured by Available Seat Miles (ASMs) increased two-and-a-half times from 2021, representing about 73 per cent of 2019 ASMs, in line with projections in Air Canada’s third quarter 2022 earnings release, dated October 28, 2022.
• Passenger revenues of $14.238 billion more than tripled from 2021, recovering to about 83 per cent of 2019 passenger revenues.
• Operating revenues of $16.556 billion increased over two-and-a-half times from 2021, recovering to about 87 per cent of 2019 operating revenues.
• Operating expenses of $16.743 billion increased $7.294 billion or 77 per cent from 2021.
• Cost per available seat mile (CASM) decreased to 20.3 cents from 28.3 cents in 2021.
• Adjusted CASM of 13.2 cents compared to 2021 adjusted CASM of 23.3 cents. Compared to 2019, adjusted CASM increased approximately 19 per cent, one percentage point above the high-end of the range projected in Air Canada’s third quarter 2022 earnings release, dated October 28, 2022. This increase was due to the impact of higher passenger traffic and yield (which increased sales and distribution costs), general inflationary pressures, including but not limited to higher catering and service costs, customer disruption costs greater than expected (largely due to weather-related disruptions in the fourth quarter of 2022), and higher employee benefits expense.
• Operating loss of $187 million significantly better than an operating loss of $3.049 billion in 2021.
• Adjusted EBITDA of $1.457 billion, compared to negative adjusted EBITDA of $1.464 billion in 2021.
• Net loss of $1.700 billion (or $4.75 per diluted share), compared to a net loss of $3.602 billion (or $10.25 per diluted share) in 2021. 2022 net loss included a foreign exchange loss of $732 million.
• Adjusted net loss of $988 million (or $2.76 per diluted share), compared to an adjusted net loss of $3.768 billion (or $10.74 per diluted share) in 2021.
• Net cash flows from operations of $2.368 billion compared to net cash used in operations of $1.502 billion in 2021.

Outlook 

For the first quarter of 2023, Air Canada plans to increase its ASM capacity by about 50 per cent from the same quarter in 2022 (or approximately 84 per cent of first quarter 2019 ASM capacity).**

Air Canada is providing the following guidance for the full year 2023 and updates to its 2024 long-term targets described below.

Metric	FY 2023 Guidance	FY 2024 Targets
ASM capacity	Increase of about 24 per cent  from 2022 ASM levels (or  about 90 per cent of 2019  ASM levels)**	About 100 per cent of 2019  ASM levels
Adjusted CASM	About 13 to 15 per cent above 2019 levels	About 8 to 10 per cent above 2019 levels
Adjusted EBITDA	About $2.5 – $3.0 billion	About $3.5 – $4.0 billion
Leverage ratio	N/A	Approaching 1.5 by year-end 2024
Annual Return on invested  capital (ROIC)	N/A	About 15 per cent by year- end 2024
Cumulative free cash flow*	N/A	About $2.5 billion for the 2022-2024 period

Major Assumptions

Assumptions were made by Air Canada in preparing and making forward-looking statements. As part of its assumptions, Air Canada assumes moderate Canadian GDP growth for 2023. Air Canada also assumes that the Canadian dollar will trade, on average, at C$1.34 per U.S. dollar for the full year 2023 and that the price of jet fuel will average C$1.30 per litre for the full year 2023.

Air Canada provided 2024 targets via news release, dated March 30, 2022, in conjunction with its 2022 Investor Day held on the same day. The following includes updates and provides explanations for the restated targets:

• For 2024, Air Canada expects a full year ASM capacity of about 100 per cent of 2019 ASM levels; up from 95 per cent of 2019 levels, as a result of securing additional interim lift.
• Air Canada expects 2024 adjusted CASM to increase by about 8 to 10 per cent when compared to 2019, as compared to an increase of 2 to 4 per cent as provided at the 2022 Investor Day.  The increase is due to the impact of higher passenger traffic (which increases sales and distribution costs), higher staffing levels to continuously improve operational performance and customer service levels, and general inflationary pressures.
• Air Canada is withdrawing its annual adjusted EBITDA margin target of about 19 per cent for full year 2024 and is now providing an adjusted EBITDA target, which is a better indicator to assess its financial performance. For 2024, Air Canada expects its adjusted EBITDA to range between about $3.5 – $4.0 billion. This new target for adjusted EBITDA range is in line with the adjusted EBITDA reflected in the margin target communicated at the 2022 Investor Day. 
• Air Canada anticipates net debt to trailing 12-month adjusted EBITDA (leverage ratio)* to approach 1.5 by year-end 2024, up from 1.0 as provided at the 2022 Investor Day. The increase in Air Canada’s targeted leverage ratio is attributable to expected higher cash used for capital expenditures, mainly due to additional freighter investments than previously forecast. 
• The target for annual return on invested capital (ROIC) of about 15 per cent by year-end 2024 remains unchanged from prior target.
• Air Canada expects cumulative free cash flow generation of about $2.5 billion for the 2022-2024 period, as compared to about $3.5 billion provided at the 2022 Investor Day.  The decrease in free cash flow is due to higher cash used for capital expenditures, as described above, partially offset by higher cash from operations.

(**Air Canada will continue to adjust capacity and take other measures as required, including to account for passenger demand, public health guidelines, travel restrictions globally, inflation and other cost pressures.)

Top Copyright Photo: Air Canada Airbus A220-300 (CS300 BD-500-1A11) C-GJYA (msn 55088) MIA (Bruce Drum). Image: 105896.

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