Transat A.T. beat expectations as the travel company's fourth quarter net income surged to $148.1-million due to a strong transatlantic summer season and proceeds from selling its stake in a hotel joint venture.
The Montreal-based company earned $4 per share, up from 95 cents or $34.9-million a year ago.
Revenues for the three months ended Oct. 31 grew 14.1 per cent to $698.6-million, helped by an 8.7 per cent increase in the number of transatlantic customers.
Excluding one-time items, Transat says its adjusted profits doubled to $46.4-million or $1.24 per share. That compared to $24.2-million or 66 cents per share in the fourth quarter of 2016.
Transat was expected to earn $1.11 in adjusted profits on $662.6-million in revenues, according to analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.
For the full year, Transat's net earnings attributable to shareholders was $134.3-million on $3-billion of revenues, which compared with a $41.7-million loss on $3.89-billion of revenue last year Adjusted profits were $29.1-million compared to a year-ago loss of $15.5-million.