MONTREAL — Transat AT Inc. says fluctuations in the Canadian dollar and higher fuel costs have hampered its attempts to return to sustainable profits.

The Montreal-based travel company says it had a $32.1 million net loss in its first quarter ended Jan. 31, nearly half of the $61.2 million net loss in the same period a year earlier.

It says that was mostly because of a favourable swing in the value of derivatives used to offset the impact of higher fuel prices.

However, Transat’s adjusted net loss grew from $30.4 million to $36 million as costs rose due to rising fuel prices and the weaker loonie.

Revenue dropped by $36.4 million to $689.3 million as the company cut the number of Sun destination packages.

Transat’s net loss equalled 87 cents per share and its adjusted loss was 98 cents per share.