Air Canada loss widens

Air Canada reported a wider fourth quarter net loss on Wednesday as operating costs rose, in part because of the weaker Canadian dollar, and adjusted earnings came in just shy of analysts' expectations. Fuel costs fell to 80.7 cents per litre from 88.4 cents a year earlier, and Canada's biggest airline forecast more improvement in the first quarter, to 66 cents.
Air Canada reported adjusted earnings of C$67 million, or 23 Canadian cents a share, up from C$3 million, or 1 Canadian cent, a year earlier. Analysts, on average, had expected earnings of 24 Canadian cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Non-operating expenses rose 46 percent to C$206 million in the fourth quarter ended December 31, while operating costs rose 9 percent to C$3.00 billion. The airline said employee benefit expenses had been higher than expected in the quarter.