Kamis, 25 Juli 2013

Southwest Earnings: Higher Expenses Hit Profit - Wall Street Journal



Southwest Airlines Co.'s second-quarter earnings edged down 1.8%, as expenses climbed despite a drop in fuel costs.


But core earnings rose to meet analyst estimates, and the carrier on Thursday indicated that the current quarter is off to a good start.


Southwest has seen its traffic rise in recent months, although its passenger revenue per available seat mile, or PRASM, a key performance metric for the airline industry, has dropped.


Southwest said PRASM fell 2.2% in the second quarter.


"While the lingering effects of government sequestration and higher taxes continued to be a drag on air travel demand, second quarter 2013 revenues and passenger traffic still reached record levels," Chairman and Chief Executive Gary Kelly said.


He added that so far, July unit revenues are roughly 3% above last year's July, and said current bookings for the rest of the third quarter look "solid."


Southwest reported second-quarter earnings of $224 million, or 31 cents a share, versus $228 million, or 30 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding items, adjusted earnings were 38 cents a share, compared with 36 cents a year earlier.


Operating revenue edged up 0.6% to $4.64 billion.


Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had most recently forecast a profit of 38 cents a share on revenue of $4.66 billion.


Economic fuel costs were $3.06 a gallon in the quarter, down from $3.22 a gallon a year earlier. Total operating expenses rose 1.3% to $4.21 billion.


Earlier this month, Southwest reported traffic grew 2.7% in the second quarter from a year earlier, while capacity rose 3%. Load factor, or the percentage of available seats filled, was 81.6%, compared with last year's 81.9%.


Southwest is being retooled from its roots as a pioneer discount airline, enlarged by the acquisition of AirTran Airways and more connecting flights, in addition to plans for international service. On Thursday, the company said it is on track to fully integrate AirTran into Southwest by the end of 2014.







Source: southwest - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNHxYk3z4j3A-00SpebgEc9HL4uh-Q&url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324564704578627551184539858.html

Tidak ada komentar:

Posting Komentar

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...