OSLO: Budget carrier Norwegian Air reported on Tuesday a smaller-than-expected growth and load factor for January, while income per passenger declined in line with forecasts.
The company's shares traded eight percent lower in Oslo, weighed down by the monthly traffic data and a plunge in global stock markets.
Europe's third-largest low-cost airline saw a 30 percent year-on-year rise in capacity (ASK), missing a forecast 34.2 percent increase in a Reuters poll, while its load factor fell to 82 percent from 83 percent, below a forecast 83.4 percent.
Norwegian's yield, measuring average revenue per passenger carried and kilometre flown, stood at 0.32 Norwegian crowns in January, as forecast by analysts.
The numbers translated into a seven percent revenue miss for the month, Pareto Securities, which holds a buy recommendation on the stock, said in a note to clients.
Kepler Cheuvreux analyst Hans-Marius Lee Ludvigsen, who also recommends buying the stock, said Norwegian Air's growth would soon accelerate.
"This deviation is peanuts," he said of the January numbers.
Norne Securities analyst Karl-Johan Molnes, who holds a Sell recommendation, said Norwegian was failing to extract economies of scale from its rapid growth.
To save itself, the airline "needs to pull a magic white rabbit out of the hat" in the form of co-operation with, or sale to, a larger airline such as Air France KLM, Molnes added.
By 0832 GMT, Norwegian Air's shares traded 8.2 percent lower for the day. Competitors Ryanair and EasyJet were down 2.4 and 2.9 percent respectively, while the Oslo benchmark index fell 2.7 percent.
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