Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Transat Conference Call. Please note that this call is being recorded. I would now like to turn the meeting over to Andréan Gagné , Senior Director of Communications, Public Affairs, and Corporate Responsibility. Please go ahead, Ms. Gagné.
[Foreign language] Bonjour et bienvenue à cet appel trimestriel de Transat. Hello everyone, and thank you for joining us for our first quarter earnings call ended January 31, 2025. Annick Guérard , President and CEO, and Jean-François Pruneau , our Chief Financial Officer, will provide an overview of the quarter and comment on the current operational situation and commercial plans. Jean-François will also discuss our financial results in detail. We will then take questions from analysts. Questions from journalists will be taken offline after the call.
The conference call will be conducted in English, but questions may be asked in French or English. As usual, our supplementary disclosure has been updated and is available on our website in the Investor section. Jean-François may refer to it when he presents the results. Our comments and discussion today may include forward-looking information regarding Transat's outlook, objectives, and strategies that are based on assumptions and subject to risks and uncertainties.
Forward-looking statements represent Transat's expectations as of March 13, 2025, and are therefore subject to change after that date. Our actual results may differ materially from any stated expectation. Please refer to our forward-looking statement in Transat's first quarter news release available on transat.com and on SEDAR+ . With that, I would like to turn over the call to Annick for opening remarks.
Good morning. Thank you for joining us for Our First Quarter Conference Call for Fiscal 2025. The quarter ended with a better performance compared to the same period last year, with revenue growing 5.6% to CAD 830 million and adjusted EBITDA totaling CAD 20 million. These results were mainly driven by positive yields, reduced fuel costs, and a tight control of operating expenses. Turning to our operating metrics, customer traffic, expressed as revenue passenger miles, increased 1% in the first quarter of 2025 from Q1 2024, reflecting continued demand for leisure travel.
High traffic and a disciplined capacity increase resulted in a yield improvement of 1.7% year- over- year. Our load factor in the first quarter was in line with the same period last year. Finally, available seat miles or capacity was up 0.5% across our global network, reflecting our disciplined planning approach. Early in the second quarter, while our load factor has slightly declined, the steady improvement in yield has offset this impact, driving revenue growth.
With regards to our elevation program, as of today, the initiatives already implemented will generate an annualized adjusted EBITDA of approximately CAD 37 million. We remain fully on track for the program to generate CAD 100 million in adjusted EBITDA by mid-2026. As a reminder, the initial phase of the program mainly consists in optimizing our cost structure. On this front, I am very encouraged by the efficiency gains and cost savings that we have been able to achieve so far, especially those generated through the implementation of technology and AI in our operations.
In the coming months, we will continue to implement key initiatives with a special focus in the area of revenue management. As anticipated, the impact on our financial results at this stage has been relatively neutral due to the startup implementation cost, but we expect the benefits to begin to materialize more significantly in the second half of fiscal 2025. Turning to our operations, as stated last quarter, we do not have aircraft deliveries planned for this year. Our fleet consists of 44 aircraft for the winter season, including a dry lease contracted in 2024, and 43 aircraft for the summer season.
We continue to actively manage the severe negative impact caused by Pratt & Whitney GTF engine issue. The number of grounded aircraft has fluctuated between six and seven during the last quarter, and we anticipate this level of AOG to persist throughout the year. As previously explained, this situation not only escalates cost but also introduces a substantial degree of uncertainty and volatility to our operation. We continue to press for the conclusion of an agreement with Pratt & Whitney regarding the grounded aircraft for 2025.
Regarding our network, we recently announced an exclusive non-stop route between Toronto and Berlin. The service will start next summer with two weekly flights. Other network expansion initiatives include the introduction of Valencia from Montréal starting in June, a new partnership with Air Europa of Spain to further strengthen our presence in the growing Spanish travel market via their hub in Madrid. We also extended our service to Martinique from Montréal for the summer season as we continue to expand our offering of year-round south destinations.
We are well prepared for this summer with a robust program and a modest capacity increase. Our network will also continue to benefit from the value created by our joint venture with Porter. We continue to build on strong organic momentum and forecast a significant increase in additional connecting passengers compared to 2024. On the operational front, we continue to make great progress to deliver strong performance. Our on-time performance in the first quarter improved by more than 4% points year- over- year, marking a third consecutive quarter of significant progress.
As indicated last quarter, the successful insourcing of passenger and ramp services at Montréal -Trudeau Airport has played a key role in this improvement. During the major snowstorms in February, our strong operational performance stood out, with remarkable on-time performance showcasing our team's stellar efficiency in challenging conditions. In addition, our customer satisfaction continued to be strong, consistently meeting our targets throughout the quarter.
Our solid operational performance, as well as our level of customer satisfaction, clearly reflect the hard work and dedication of our team and provide a robust foundation for achieving our broader goals moving forward. Finally, we formally opened negotiations with our pilot union in late January to reach a new collective agreement in 2025, and we are encouraged with discussions that have been productive so far. Looking ahead to the second quarter and the summer season, we are closely analyzing any potential impact of U.S. tariffs on our business and consumer sentiment.
Transat has limited exposure to the U.S., with only two routes to Florida representing about 3% of our total ASMs. However, the negative effects of a trade dispute with the U.S. could have multiple impacts, with two key areas of concern. First, the depreciation of the Canadian dollar, already underway, directly increases our costs, particularly for fuel and aircraft leasing, which are priced in U.S. dollars. Perhaps even more critical is the broader economic uncertainty that such a dispute is creating, affecting consumer confidence and, in turn, potentially impacting travel demand.
We recognize this is a highly volatile environment. We are closely monitoring the evolution and continue to factor it into our decision-making and forecasting processes. In closing, we are encouraged by the yield improvement achieved in a more disciplined capacity environment. Our yield has maintained its steady growth in the early part of the second quarter, which is compensating for a slightly lower load factor. While it is still early, these trends are currently carrying over into the summer season.
However, given the current macroeconomic uncertainties, we are taking a cautious stance when assessing the outlook for the remainder of 2025. Our elevation program is progressing according to plan, and we remain on track towards achieving our financial objectives. The refinancing of our debt and the strengthening of our balance sheet remain our priority for 2025. We are continuing to explore all alternatives that will allow us to implement an optimal structure over the long term.
In the meantime, work continues at all levels to increase revenues, tighten spending, boost liquidity, and improve overall productivity. All teams are mobilized, and I thank them once again for their unwavering commitment. This concludes my remarks. Jean-François will now present our financial results.
Thank you, Annick. Good morning, everyone. Before reviewing our financial results, I would like to highlight the steps that we have taken to address our debt challenges. Discussions with our main lender, the federal government, which began over 18 months ago, along with other stakeholders, are still ongoing, although a permanent solution has not yet been reached.
To provide greater flexibility while these discussions continue, and given their complexity, we have recently extended the maturity dates of our subordinated and secured loan financing agreements with the federal government to April 2027 and November 2026, respectively. Additionally, we renegotiated our revolving credit facility, extending its maturity to November 2026. Now let's take a closer look at our first quarter results for fiscal 2025. Revenues total CAD 830 million, up 5.6% from the first quarter of 2024.
This growth reflects a 1.7% increase in yield expressed in airline unit revenues and a 1% improvement in customer traffic expressed in revenue passenger miles compared to the first quarter of 2024. As Annick mentioned earlier, network capacity rose 0.5% in the first quarter from the same period last year. Adjusted EBITDA, meanwhile, reached CAD 20 million compared to a negative adjusted EBITDA of CAD 3 million in the first quarter a year ago. This improvement reflects revenue growth, a 15% year-over-year decrease in fuel prices, tight control over our cost, and lower aircraft rent expenses.
Net loss amounted to CAD 123 million, or CAD 3.10 per share, in the first quarter of 2025, compared to CAD 61 million, or CAD 1.58 per share, in the first quarter of 2024, all explained by the variation of the Canadian dollar. Meanwhile, the adjusted net loss was CAD 75 million versus CAD 76 million last year.
Moving to our cash flow and financial position. Cash flow from operating activities totaled CAD 169 million in the first quarter of 2025, compared to CAD 111 million in the first quarter last year, mainly driven by favorable changes in working capital balances. CapEx decreased from CAD 49 million in Q1 2024 to CAD 23 million this quarter, with higher capital expenditures in 2024, primarily driven by an unfavorable maintenance calendar.
After accounting for investing activities and repayment of lease liabilities, free cash flow reached CAD 129 million in the first quarter of this year versus CAD 39 million for the same period in 2024. Turning to our balance sheet, cash and cash equivalents stood at CAD 389 million, as at January 31, 2025, up from CAD 260 million at the end of Q4 2024. Cash and cash equivalent in trust or otherwise reserved, mainly resulting from travel package bookings, improved to CAD 604 million at the end of the first quarter, up from CAD 454 million at the end of Q4 2024.
Early in the first quarter, Transat received net proceeds of nearly CAD 31 million from the sale and lease back of a Ford spare engine obtained as a compensation from Pratt & Whitney due to operational disruptions during the 2023-2024 period. It should be noted that we have already entered into negotiations for a follow-up agreement with the engine manufacturer related to our grounded aircraft in 2025.
Reflecting these proceeds and the change in cash, our net long-term debt and deferred government grant amounted to CAD 424 million at the end of the first quarter, down from CAD 543 million at the end of the fourth quarter of 2024. This concludes my prepared comments. We will now open the line for questions.
Thank you. We will now take questions from analysts. If you are an analyst and would like to register a question, please press star one on your telephone keypad. If you would like to withdraw, please press star two. [Foreign language] Nous allons maintenant commencer la période de questions. Si vous êtes analyste, appuyez sur l'étoile 1. Et si vous désirez vous retirer, s'il vous plaît, appuyez sur l'étoile 2. Please press *1 now if you do have any questions. The first question will be from Konark Gupta at Scotiabank. Please go ahead.
Thanks, and good morning. Just maybe going back, Annick, to your point about impact of the Canadian dollar weakness and macro from the tariff uncertainty. I just wanted to understand, what have you seen so far in the booking curve from both perspectives? Canadian dollar weakness, obviously, you have a lot of international travel. Also, there's a wave of boycott U.S.A. going on in light of tariffs. What are you seeing in your demand curve right now? Are people slowing down bookings for certain specific markets, or is it broad-based?
Thank you for the question. Besides the US market, which remains, as we explained, a very small market for us with only two destinations that we operate on, Florida, we have not seen yet other negative impact on our booking curve following tariffs announcements. Of course, we are closely monitoring the situation as it evolves, especially as we enter right now in a strong booking period for the summer. We are well aware that the current environment is affecting overall consumer confidence, and this could eventually affect travel demand.
We have not seen any impact over the last weeks on the bookings on our different offering. In the meantime, I think what helps us is that at the beginning of the year, we have decided to deploy limited capacity. This is something that we have control on, control over, so that is really important. We remain very disciplined on that side. The other thing we're looking at right now, given the current environment, we would not be surprised to see more last-minute bookings this year.
I think that people potentially will hesitate before making any bookings, better understanding what's going to happen with the economic environment. Anyway, we're going to touch wood so far. We haven't seen impacts besides the US market on our bookings. Things are looking good for now.
Okay. That's encouraging. Thanks. On the other topic of what's happening in Canada, I think there's been discussions about proposals from the government about privatizing airports. Do you guys have any views? How will the privatization impact your business? Will it be beneficial or less beneficial to you guys, and do you support that?
We support, of course, much-needed investments in our air infrastructure, especially at our airports in Montréal and Toronto. Canadian aviation infrastructure is funded, as we've mentioned multiple times, by a user-pay model. Airlines are charged with very high rent, which should be reinvested in infrastructure. In these uncertain economic times right now, we are especially mindful of all these costs, in all aspects of the air travel ecosystem.
Enhancing a traveler's experience should remain a priority. We want to work closely with the different relevant parties to ensure the best infrastructure for our people. We support any evaluation or assessments that are being made to support these objectives. If privatizing some of the activities is worth helping the whole infrastructure, we are not against it.
Okay. That's very clear. Thank you so much for the time.
Thank you. Next question will be from Cameron Doerksen at National Bank Financial. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Thanks. Good morning. I wanted to ask a little bit about the yield trends in the winter. I mean, overall, yields up 1.7%, but interesting that yield on the southern destinations, which would be, I guess, the majority of what you're doing in the winter, is actually slightly negative. I am just wondering if you can talk about kind of what you're seeing there. I mean, it would seem to me that maybe you're seeing some pretty strong pricing trends on the transatlantic markets. If you could confirm that and just see if we've seen something similar in the second quarter as well.
Yeah. Yeah. When we look at the yields on the south markets for Q1, we have not seen significant growth, as you mentioned. As we are looking into Q2, we are seeing positive yields compared to last year. We are more looking into, as we are speaking right now, around a little bit more than 2%. That is encouraging. In the Atlantic market, we have seen very positive yields in Q1 with 8%. We are looking around that percentage, close to 6% right now as we look into Q2. Trends are trending positive as we are getting closer to summer as well.
Okay. Are you seeing, I guess, in the bookings you've got so far for the summer? I appreciate it's still pretty early, but that kind of plus 6% you're seeing in Q2, is that something that you're seeing into the summer period as well with the bookings you've had so far?
It is very early to comment, as you are seeing. What we are seeing right now is positive compared to last year. Again, it is early. Due to the economic context, we will be careful in our comments.
Okay. Fair enough.
Nothing negative so far.
Okay. Just secondly, just on the refinancing negotiation or discussions, appreciate that these are complex. Is there any kind of update on the timeline of when we can finally get something done here? I am wondering if a potential change in government in Canada is going to extend this whole process even further.
Yeah. The change of government, it's obviously hard to speculate if it's going to slow down or accelerate our process. It's probably a question for them rather than for us. That being said, discussions with their government, other stakeholders, key stakeholders are ongoing. Like you mentioned, it's a complex situation. All alternatives are on the table, essentially. We are working very hard with them. Because of the complexity of those discussions, I think that the additional room to maneuver that we got from our creditors, mainly the federal government, with the maturity extension, I think it helps.
Okay. Okay. That's great. I'll pass the line. Thanks very much.
Thank you. Once again, ladies and gentlemen, if you do have any questions, please press star followed by one.[Foreign language] Mesdames et messieurs, à nouveau, si vous avez des questions, veuillez appuyer sur l'étoile et le 1. Next, we will hear from Alice Lu at CIBC. Please go ahead.
Hi. Good morning. I have a question on just a lot of headlines of Canadians boycotting travel to the U.S. Just wondering, are you seeing that impact in the competitive environment for some destinations in the transatlantic market?
I think you're asking us if we're seeing any negative impact on the US markets. That's for sure. We've talked about it earlier. We had to decrease our overall capacity towards the US market by 10%. As you can have seen as well from other carriers, a lot of Canadian carriers decreased their capacity as well. There's definitely a clear impact in terms of Canadian demand to the U.S. We're looking as well at what the U.S. carriers are announcing. The domestic in the U.S. is decreasing as well. Is your question to see if this capacity is being deployed on other markets? Is that what I heard?
Yeah. Basically, are you seeing that in the competitive environment?
No. I think it's still early. We could anticipate that some of the carriers who have removed our capacity from the U.S. could deploy elsewhere, but we haven't seen clear plans so far.
Okay. Thank you. Last question I have is, with the challenging winter conditions in February and Delta Air Lines' incident at Pearson, should we be mindful of any incremental costs in fiscal Q2?
No. No. Not really. No.
Okay. Thank you. That's all my questions.
Thank you. At this time, we have no other questions. Please proceed.
Thank you, everyone. As a reminder, our 2025 second quarter results will be released on Thursday, June 12. Thank you and have a good day.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, this does indeed conclude the conference call for today. Once again, thank you for attending. At this time, we ask that you please disconnect your line.