July 11 (Reuters) - Budget airline Norwegian Air

reported second-quarter earnings above market

expectations on Friday and said it would pay out a dividend for

the first time.

Norwegian posted an operating profit (EBIT) of 1.25 billion

Norwegian crowns ($123.84 million) for the quarter, beating a

company-compiled consensus of 1.04 billion crowns.

The airline also said it would pay out a dividend of 0.90

crowns per share for the first time.

"The operating profit and margin are the second highest we

have ever had in this quarter, and the passenger numbers and

load factor are the highest in a second quarter since 2019," CEO

Geir Karlsen said in the statement.

The carrier expects its unit costs - the average cost of

flying an aircraft seat - excluding fuel to increase by a low to

mid-single-digit percentage compared to 2024.

The airline kept its capacity outlook of 37,500 million seat

kilometres.

Aircraft deliveries delays at Boeing ( BA ) and Airbus are

putting a strain on airlines which are struggling to meet demand

with parts of their fleet in maintenance or decommission,

forcing them to lease aircraft externally to meet capacity

needs.

It did not provide guidance for its annual operating

profit.

The airline industry is slowly getting back on its feet

after the pandemic. The Norwegian state

converted

half of the pandemic loan it provided for the airline's

reconstruction in 2021 into a stake in the company in May and

then

sold

it. Norwegian Air then redeemed the other half.

Norwegian had seen particularly strong demand in June,

reporting the highest passenger number and load factor since the

pandemic.