October 20, 2011
Discount carrier Southwest Airlines on Thursday reported a third-quarter loss as it had write-downs in its fuel hedges. Excluding items, the airline had a profit.
Dallas-based Southwest, which acquired AirTran Holdings earlier this year, added it expected "solid" growth in passenger unit revenues during the current fourth quarter, based on business activity in October.
"Despite the cautious economic outlook, our booking trends remain strong," chief executive Gary Kelly said in a statement.
The company also said it expects the AirTran purchase, which gave Southwest access to new US East Coast markets such as Atlanta, to add to per-share profit this year.
Write-downs in the company's fuel-hedge programme led to a net loss of USD$140 million in the third quarter, compared with profit of USD$205 million a year earlier.
The latest results included unrealised, non-cash markdowns of USD$227 million tied to some of the carrier's fuel hedges for future periods.
Excluding one-time items, profit came to USD$122 million, down from the year earlier's USD$195 million.
Quarterly revenue rose 35 percent to USD$4.3 billion. Passenger revenue rose 32 percent and freight sales gained nearly 13 percent. Other revenue more than doubled, aided by early check-in fees and the airline's loyalty programme.
Operating expenses rose 44 percent in the period as fuel and oil costs were up 71 percent from a year ago.
(Reuters)
Discount carrier Southwest Airlines on Thursday reported a third-quarter loss as it had write-downs in its fuel hedges. Excluding items, the airline had a profit.
Dallas-based Southwest, which acquired AirTran Holdings earlier this year, added it expected "solid" growth in passenger unit revenues during the current fourth quarter, based on business activity in October.
"Despite the cautious economic outlook, our booking trends remain strong," chief executive Gary Kelly said in a statement.
The company also said it expects the AirTran purchase, which gave Southwest access to new US East Coast markets such as Atlanta, to add to per-share profit this year.
Write-downs in the company's fuel-hedge programme led to a net loss of USD$140 million in the third quarter, compared with profit of USD$205 million a year earlier.
The latest results included unrealised, non-cash markdowns of USD$227 million tied to some of the carrier's fuel hedges for future periods.
Excluding one-time items, profit came to USD$122 million, down from the year earlier's USD$195 million.
Quarterly revenue rose 35 percent to USD$4.3 billion. Passenger revenue rose 32 percent and freight sales gained nearly 13 percent. Other revenue more than doubled, aided by early check-in fees and the airline's loyalty programme.
Operating expenses rose 44 percent in the period as fuel and oil costs were up 71 percent from a year ago.
(Reuters)