With revenue growth, Alaska Air loss shrinks
EARNINGS: Fourth-quarter results did not meet expectations.
By CURT WOODWARD
The Associated Press
Published: January 26, 2007
Last Modified: January 26, 2007 at 04:58 AM
SEATTLE -- Alaska Air Group Inc. on Thursday said its loss narrowed in the fourth quarter as revenue grew. The results missed Wall Street expectations, sending shares down 2.4 percent.
For the three months ended Dec. 31, the Seattle- based parent company of Alaska Air and Horizon Air lost $11.6 million, compared with a loss of $33 million during the prior-year quarter.
Revenue grew 8 percent to $790.3 million, from $730.6 million last year.
Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected flat earnings on revenue of $793.4 million.
Alaska Air Group shares closed down $1, or 2.4 percent, to $40.60 on the New York Stock Exchange. Shares have traded in a 52-week range of $29.44 to $45.85.
Company officials said they were unsure of whether higher ticket costs or other factors were behind the slower-than-expected revenue growth. Executives said severe winter weather across the West also may have played a part in decreased occupancy.
"We don't know whether it's just timing or whether it's related to weather or whether it might be pushback related to some of these fares," Alaska Airlines Chief Financial Officer Brad Tilden said Thursday in a conference call with analysts.
Alaska Airlines' fourth-quarter passenger traffic grew 3.4 percent as capacity grew 3.6 percent. Load factor, an industry measure of occupancy, fell 0.2 percentage points to 73.7 percent.
Operating revenue per available seat mile grew 3.9 percent.
Horizon Air's passenger traffic grew 4.3 percent as capacity increased 5.2 percent. Occupancy fell 0.7 percentage points to 73 percent. Horizon's operating revenue per available seat mile grew 7.1 percent.
Recent declines in crude oil prices have hurt value the company might otherwise get from hedging, or locking in fuel prices several months or years in advance, said Tilden, who oversees fuel hedging for both carriers.
At current prices, the company expects almost not to benefit from hedging in 2007, he said.
For the year, net loss was $52.6 million, versus a loss of $5.9 million in 2005. Revenue grew 12 percent, to $3.33 billion from $2.98 billion. |
