Cargojet profits down 40% in Q1

The Canadian cargo airline posted net earnings of C$2.6 million (U.S. $1.91 million) for the quarter despite revenues rising 13.3 percent to C$87.1 million compared with the first quarter of 2016.    Canadian cargo airline Cargojet posted first quarter 2017 net earnings of $2.6 million Canadian (U.S. $1.91 million), down almost 40 percent from the same period last year, according to the company’s most recent financial statements.
   Revenues, however, rose 13.3 percent year-over-year to C$87.1 million for the quarter.
   Direct expenses were C$66.2 million during the first quarter, which including aircraft leasing expenses, fuel costs and heavy maintenance amortizations costs, said the company.
   The company attributed the strong revenue growth primarily to an increase in core overnight revenues, as well as ACMI contract revenues and increased fuel surcharges. The ACMI revenue improvement came after the company added new scheduled daily routes to the U.S. in February last year and additional flights to Colombia, Mexico and Peru that started in June 2016.
   In April, Cargojet signed a new three-year AMCI contract route between Canada and the U.S. Annual revenues from the new contract are expected to be roughly C$11 million, the company said.
   “Cargojet continues to focus on growing our revenues and maximizing cash flows” said Ajay Virmani, president and chief executive officer. “We are very pleased with the results this quarter, as we continue to maximize the utilization of our aircraft fleet and to prudently manage our operating costs.”
   The airline carriers roughly 1.3 million pounds of cargo every day across North America via 19 all-cargo aircraft.