Norwegian Air raises full-year 2023 profit forecast

Norwegian Air said on Wednesday it had raised its earnings forecast for 2023 on the back of strong demand in the final two months of the year, sending its share price up 5% in early trade to a 21-month high.<br/>The carrier now expects a full-year operating profit of about 2.2b Norwegian crowns ($209.65m), up from an earlier guided range between 1.8b and 2b crowns. The guidance hike primarily follows stronger than expected traffic demand in November and December, Norwegian said, as well as the settlement of a trademark dispute with Bank Norwegian and compensation related to aircraft delivery delays. "Favourable development in the price of jet fuel and foreign exchange rates have also had a positive impact on the results outlook," Norwegian said. The company said its 2023 unit cost excluding fuel per available seat kilometre was now seen at about 0.48 Norwegian crowns for the year, at the high end of its earlier 0.47-0.48 crowns range. <br/>