Alaska Air Group reports third quarter 2016 results

Thu, 20 Oct 2016 08:01:08 -0400 | Benzinga

SEATTLE, Oct. 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Financial Highlights:

  • Reported net income for the third quarter under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) of $256 million, or $2.07 per diluted share, compared to net income of $274 million, or $2.14 per diluted share in 2015.
  • Reported adjusted diluted earnings per share of $2.20, a 2% increase over the third quarter of 2015. Third quarter net income, excluding special items, was $272 million, a 2% decrease from the third quarter of 2015. This quarter's results exceed First Call analyst consensus estimate of $2.09 per share.
  • Paid 27.5¢ per-share quarterly cash dividend in the third quarter, a 38% increase over the dividend paid in the third quarter of 2015.
  • Generated approximately $1.2 billion of operating cash flow and $700 million of free cash flow for the nine months ending Sept. 30, 2016.
  • Achieved 24.8% adjusted pre-tax margin on a trailing 12-month basis.
  • Achieved return on invested capital of 24.4% for the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 2016.
  • Held $3.2 billion in unrestricted cash and marketable securities as of Sept. 30, 2016.

Planned Acquisition of Virgin America:

  • Announced proposed acquisition of Virgin America on April 4, 2016.
  • Raised approximately $1.5 billion of funding in anticipation of the proposed acquisition of Virgin America.
  • Recorded special items of $22 million in the third quarter for merger-related costs.

Year-To-Date Accomplishments and Highlights:

  • Became the first major U.S. airline to receive approval from the Federal Aviation Administration for its Safety Management System.
  • Ranked "Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Traditional Carriers in North America" in 2016 by J.D. Power for ninth year in a row.
  • Ranked "Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Airline Loyalty Rewards Programs" in 2016 by J.D. Power for the third consecutive year.
  • Ranked first in the U.S. News & World Report's list of Best Airline Rewards Programs for the second consecutive year.
  • Announced enhanced benefits to the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature credit card and the Alaska Airlines Visa Business credit card including the elimination of foreign transaction fees and increased bonus miles.
  • Announced a new codeshare agreement and frequent flier partnership with Japan Airlines, providing Alaska customers seamless travel and mileage earning opportunities.
  • Ranked among Forbes' 2016 "America's Best Employers."
  • Held the No. 1 spot in U.S. Department of Transportation on-time performance among the six largest U.S. airlines for the 12 months ended August 2016.
  • Received the Department of Defense 2016 Freedom Award, the highest recognition given to employers by the U.S. government for their support of National Guard and Reserve members.
  • Received 15th Diamond Awards of Excellence from the Federal Aviation Administration, recognizing both Alaska and Horizon's aircraft technicians for their commitment to training.
  • Earned first place in the commercial aviation division and first place overall at the 2016 Annual International Aerospace Maintenance Competition, surpassing over 50 teams from around the world.
  • Named the No. 1 cargo carrier by Logistics Management magazine, as part of its annual Quest for Quality awards.
  • Joined the Standard and Poor's 500 Index. Companies included in the S&P 500 are chosen by the S&P Index Committee based on their size, earnings history and liquidity, among other factors.
  • Ranked among the Fortune 500 for the third year in a row.
  • Flew the first commercial flight using sustainable alcohol-to-jet biofuel made from U.S. grown corn, continuing Alaska's commitment to reduce its carbon emissions.
  • Ranked among the top "green companies" in the United States by Newsweek.
  • Received the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Green Gateway Environmental Excellence Award for the second year in a row, as a result of efforts in reducing emissions, recycling and waste reduction and lowered energy consumption.

New routes announced in the third quarter were as follows:

New Nonstop Routes Announced (Launch Dates)
Portland, Oregon to Newark, New Jersey (11/10/16)
San Diego to Newark, New Jersey (11/21/16)
Portland to Sun Valley, Idaho (12/17/16)
Los Angeles to Havana, Cuba (1/5/17) (a)
San Jose, California to Newark, New Jersey (3/12/17)
Seattle to Wichita, Kansas (4/13/17)
Seattle to Indianapolis, Indiana (5/11/17)
(a) Pending final Department of Transportation (DOT) approval.

Alaska Air Group, Inc., (NYSE: ALK) today reported third quarter 2016 GAAP net income of $256 million, or $2.07 per diluted share, compared to $274 million, or $2.14 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2015. Excluding the impact of merger-related costs and mark-to-market fuel hedge adjustments, the company reported record adjusted net income of $272 million, or $2.20 per diluted share, compared to adjusted net income of $277 million, or $2.16 per diluted share, in 2015.

"We had a fantastic quarter operationally and financially. I want to thank both our employees and customers," said Alaska Airlines Chairman and CEO Brad Tilden. "All of us at Alaska are fully focused on completing our merger with Virgin America, while continuing to work together to be the best airline we can possibly be for our customers."

The following table reconciles the company's reported GAAP net income and earnings per diluted share (Diluted EPS).


Three Months Ended September 30,


2016


2015

(in millions, except per-share amounts)

Dollars


Diluted EPS


Dollars


Diluted EPS

Reported GAAP net income

$

256



$

2.07



$

274



$

2.14


Mark-to-market fuel hedge adjustments

3



0.02



5



0.04


Special items - merger-related costs

22



0.18






Income tax effect

(9)



(0.07)



(2)



(0.02)


Non-GAAP adjusted income and per-share amounts

$

272



$

2.20



$

277



$

2.16





Nine Months Ended September 30,


2016


2015

(in millions, except per-share amounts)

Dollars


Diluted EPS


Dollars


Diluted EPS

Reported GAAP net income

$

700



$

5.63



$

657



$

5.05


Mark-to-market fuel hedge adjustments

(9)



(0.07)



(1)



(0.01)


Special items - merger-related costs

36



0.29






Income tax effect

(10)



(0.08)






Non-GAAP adjusted income and per-share amounts

$

717



$

5.77



$

656



$

5.04


 

Statistical data, as well as a reconciliation of the reported non-GAAP financial measures, can be found in the accompanying tables. A glossary of financial terms can be found on the last page of this release.

A conference call regarding the third quarter results will be simulcast online at 8:30 a.m. Pacific time on October 20, 2016. It can be accessed through the company's website at www.alaskaair.com/investors. For those unable to listen to the live broadcast, a replay will be available after the conclusion of the call.

Forward-Looking Statements

This communication contains forward-looking statements, within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.  These statements relate to future events, Alaska Air Group and the proposed merger of Virgin America with a wholly owned subsidiary of Alaska Air Group. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. These statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believe," " expect," "may," "likely," "should," "project," "could," "plan," "goal," "potential," "pro forma," "seek," "estimate," "intend" or "anticipate" or the negative thereof or comparable terminology, and include discussions of strategy, financial projections, guidance and estimates (including their underlying assumptions), statements regarding plans, objectives, expectations or consequences of announced transactions, and statements about the future performance, operations and services of Alaska Air Group. Alaska Air Group cautions readers not to place undue reliance on these statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties. Consequently, actual results and experience may materially differ from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include the following: delay in closing the merger or the possibility of non-consummation of the merger; labor costs and relations; general economic conditions; increases in operating costs including fuel; competition; inability to meet cost reduction goals; seasonal fluctuations in our financial results; an aircraft accident; and changes in laws and regulations. These risks and others relating to Alaska Air Group and the proposed merger are described in greater detail in Alaska Air Group's SEC filings, including Alaska Air Group's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015, as well as in other documents filed by Alaska Air Group with the SEC after the date thereof. Alaska Air Group makes no commitment to revise or update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect events or circumstances occurring or existing after the date any forward-looking statement is made.

Alaska Airlines, together with its regional partners, flies 32 million customers a year to more than 110 cities with an average of 970 daily flights throughout the United States, Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico and soon Cuba. With Alaska's global airline partners, customers can earn and redeem miles to more than 800 destinations worldwide. Onboard, customers are invited to make the most of their flight with amenities like power outlets at every seat, streaming entertainment direct to their device, Wi-Fi and an inspired food and beverage selection featured on most flights. Alaska Airlines ranked "Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Traditional Carriers in North America" in the J.D. Power North American Airline Satisfaction Study for nine consecutive years from 2008 to 2016. Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan also ranked "Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Airline Loyalty Rewards Programs" in the J.D. Power Airline Loyalty/Rewards Program Satisfaction Report for the last three consecutive years. Alaska Airlines is a subsidiary of Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK). Learn more on the airline's newsroom, blog, alaskaair.com, @AlaskaAir, facebook.com/alaskaairlines and linkedin.com/company/alaska-airlines.

 

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (unaudited)

Alaska Air Group, Inc.














Three Months Ended
September 30,


Nine Months Ended
September 30,

(in millions, except per-share amounts)

2016


2015


Change


2016


2015


Change

Operating Revenues:












Passenger












Mainline

$

1,073



$

1,057



2

%


$

3,036



$

2,977



2

%

Regional

249



240



4

%


682



638



7

%

Total passenger revenue

1,322



1,297



2

%


3,718



3,615



3

%

Freight and mail

31



30



3

%


82



83



(1)

%

Other - net

213



188



13

%


607



523



16

%

Total Operating Revenues

1,566



1,515



3

%


4,407



4,221



4

%













Operating Expenses:












Wages and benefits

340



312



9

%


1,008



923



9

%

Variable incentive pay

31



32



(3)

%


95



90



6

%

Aircraft fuel, including hedging gains and losses

225



245



(8)

%


593



741



(20)

%

Aircraft maintenance

64



67



(4)

%


197



182



8

%

Aircraft rent

25



26



(4)

%


80



78



3

%

Landing fees and other rentals

89



80



11

%


232



217



7

%

Contracted services

63



54



17

%


183



157



17

%

Selling expenses

58



53



9

%


162



160



1

%

Depreciation and amortization

101



81



25

%


281



236



19

%

Food and beverage service

31



30



3

%


93



83



12

%

Third-party regional carrier expense

25



20



25

%


72



52



38

%

Other

92



82



12

%


267



259



3

%

Special items - merger-related costs

22





NM


36





NM

Total Operating Expenses

1,166



1,082



8

%


3,299



3,178



4

%

Operating Income

400



433



(8)

%


1,108



1,043



6

%













Nonoperating Income (Expense):












Interest income

7



5





20



16




Interest expense

(11)



(10)





(33)



(32)




Interest capitalized

6



9





21



25




Other - net







(2)



1




Total Nonoperating Income (Expense)

2



4





6



10




Income Before Income Tax

402



437





1,114



1,053




Income tax expense

146



163





414



396




Net Income

$

256



$

274





$

700



$

657
















Basic Earnings Per Share:

$

2.08



$

2.15





$

5.66



$

5.08




Diluted Earnings Per Share:

$

2.07



$

2.14





$

5.63



$

5.05
















Shares Used for Computation:












Basic

123.149



127.308





123.648



129.231




Diluted

123.833



128.205





124.393



130.200
















Cash dividend declared per share:

$

0.275



$

0.20





$

0.825



$

0.60




 

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (unaudited)

Alaska Air Group, Inc.








(in millions)

September 30, 2016


December 31, 2015

Cash and marketable securities

$

3,226



$

1,328






Total current assets

3,600



1,663


Property and equipment-net

5,031



4,802


Other assets

68



65


Total assets

8,699



6,530






Air traffic liability

785



669


Current portion of long-term debt

275



114


Other current liabilities

1,063



1,022


Current liabilities

2,123



1,805


Long-term debt

1,861



569


Other liabilities and credits

1,851



1,745


Shareholders' equity

2,864



2,411


Total liabilities and shareholders' equity

$

8,699



$

6,530






Debt-to-capitalization ratio, adjusted for operating leases(a)

45%



27%






Number of common shares outstanding

123.266



125.175




(a)   

Calculated using the present value of remaining aircraft lease payments.

 

OPERATING STATISTICS SUMMARY (unaudited)

Alaska Air Group, Inc.














Three Months Ended
September 30,


Nine Months Ended
September 30,


2016


2015


Change


2016


2015


Change

Consolidated Operating Statistics:(a)












Revenue passengers (000)

9,054


8,616


5.1%


25,536


23,956


6.6%

RPMs (000,000) "traffic"

9,601


8,878


8.1%


27,569


25,052


10.0%

ASMs (000,000) "capacity"

11,212


10,368


8.1%


32,728


29,574


10.7%

Load factor

85.6%


85.6%


  —pts


84.2%


84.7%


(0.5)pts

Yield

13.77¢


14.61¢


(5.7)%


13.49¢


14.43¢


(6.5)%

PRASM

11.79¢


12.51¢


(5.8)%


11.36¢


12.22¢


(7.0)%

RASM

13.97¢


14.61¢


(4.4)%


13.47¢


14.27¢


(5.6)%

CASM excluding fuel and special items(b)

8.20¢


8.07¢


1.6%


8.16¢


8.24¢


(1.0)%

Economic fuel cost per gallon(b)

$1.58


$1.82


(13.2)%


$1.47


$1.97


(25.4%)

Fuel gallons (000,000)

140


132


6.1%


410


377


8.8%

ASM's per gallon

80.1


78.5


2.0%


79.8


78.4


1.8%

Average number of full-time equivalent employees (FTE)

14,674


14,003


4.8%


14,500


13,690


5.9%













Mainline Operating Statistics:












Revenue passengers (000)

6,507


6,171


5.4%


18,432


17,193


7.2%

RPMs (000,000) "traffic"

8,595


7,976


7.8%


24,767


22,633


9.4%

ASMs (000,000) "capacity"

9,987


9,278


7.6%


29,216


26,609


9.8%

Load factor

86.1%


86.0%


  0.1pts


84.8%


85.1%


 (0.3)pts

Yield

12.49¢


13.26¢


(5.8)%


12.26¢


13.15¢


(6.8)%

PRASM

10.75¢


11.40¢


(5.7)%


10.39¢


11.19¢


(7.1)%

RASM

12.96¢


13.50¢


(4.0)%


12.53¢


13.23¢


(5.3)%

CASM excluding fuel and special items(b)

7.28¢


7.19¢


1.3%


7.21¢


7.33¢


(1.6)%

Economic fuel cost per gallon(b)

$1.57


$1.81


(13.3)%


$1.46


$1.97


(25.9%)

Fuel gallons (000,000)

119


113


5.3%


350


326


7.4%

ASM's per gallon

83.9


82.1


2.2%


83.5


81.6


2.3%

Average number of FTE's

11,397


10,824


5.3%


11,260


10,643


5.8%

Aircraft utilization

10.6


10.9


(2.8%)


10.7


10.9


(1.8)%

Average aircraft stage length

1,203


1,168


3.0%


1,218


1,185


2.8%

Operating fleet

154


144


  10 a/c


154


144


  10 a/c













Regional Operating Statistics:(c)












Revenue passengers (000)

2,547


2,445


4.2%


7,105


6,762


5.1%

RPMs (000,000) "traffic"

1,006


903


11.4%


2,801


2,419


15.8%

ASMs (000,000) "capacity"

1,225


1,090


12.4%


3,512


2,965


18.4%

Load factor

82.1%


82.8%


(0.7)pts


79.8%


81.6%


(1.8)pts

Yield

24.75¢


26.53¢


(6.7)%


24.35¢


26.37¢


(7.7)%

PRASM

20.32¢


21.97¢


(7.5)%


19.43¢


21.51¢


(9.7)%

Operating fleet

69


63


   6 a/c


69


63


   6 a/c



(a)    

Except for full-time equivalent employees, data includes information related to third-party regional capacity purchase flying arrangements.



(b)    

See a reconciliation of operating expenses excluding fuel and special items, a reconciliation of economic fuel costs, and Note A in the accompanying pages, for a discussion of why these measures may be important to investors.



(c)     

Data presented includes information related to flights operated by Horizon Air and third-party carriers.

 

OPERATING SEGMENTS (unaudited)

Alaska Air Group, Inc.

















Three Months Ended September 30, 2016


Alaska











(in millions)

Mainline


Regional


Horizon


Parent &
Consolidating(a)


Air Group
Adjusted(b)


Special
Items(c)


Consolidated

Operating revenues














Passenger














Mainline

$

1,073



$



$



$



$

1,073



$



$

1,073


Regional



249







249





249


  Total passenger revenues

1,073



249







1,322





1,322


CPA revenues





109



(109)








Freight and mail

30



1







31





31


Other-net

190



21



1



1



213





213


Total operating revenues

1,293



271



110



(108)



1,566





1,566
















Operating expenses














Operating expenses, excluding fuel

727



202



99



(109)



919



22



941


Economic fuel

188



34







222



3



225


Total operating expenses

915



236



99



(109)



1,141



25



1,166
















Nonoperating income (expense)














Interest income

7









7





7


Interest expense

(7)





(2)



(2)



(11)





(11)


Other

5







1



6





6


Total Nonoperating income (expense)

5





(2)



(1)



2





2


Income (loss) before income tax

$

383



$

35



$

9



$



$

427



$

(25)



$

402


 


Three Months Ended September 30, 2015


Alaska











(in millions)

Mainline


Regional


Horizon


Parent &
Consolidating(a)


Air Group
Adjusted(b)


Special
Items(c)


Consolidated

Operating revenues














Passenger














Mainline

$

1,057



$



$



$



$

1,057



$



$

1,057


Regional



240







240





240


  Total passenger revenues

1,057



240







1,297





1,297


CPA revenues





105



(105)








Freight and mail

29



1







30





30


Other-net

167



20



1





188





188


Total operating revenues

1,253



261



106



(105)



1,515





1,515
















Operating expenses














Operating expenses, excluding fuel

667



181



93



(104)



837





837


Economic fuel

205



35







240



5



245


Total operating expenses

872



216



93



(104)



1,077



5



1,082
















Nonoperating income (expense)














Interest income

5









5





5


Interest expense

(7)





(3)





(10)





(10)


Other

7







2



9





9


Total Nonoperating income (expense)

 

5





(3)



2



4





4


Income (loss) before income tax

$

386



$

45



$

10



$

1



$

442



$

(5)



$

437


 


Nine Months Ended September 30, 2016


Alaska












Mainline


Regional


Horizon


Parent &
Consolidating(a)


Air Group
Adjusted(b)


Special
Items(c)


Consolidated

Operating revenues














Passenger














Mainline

3,036





$



$



$

3,036



$



$

3,036


Regional



682







682





682


  Total passenger revenues

3,036



682







3,718





3,718


CPA revenues





322



(322)








Freight and mail

79



3







82





82


Other - net

546



57



3



1



607





607


Total operating revenues

3,661



742



325



(321)



4,407





4,407
















Operating expenses














Operating expenses, excluding fuel

2,107



580



305



(322)



2,670



36



2,706


Economic fuel

512



90







602



(9)



593


Total operating expenses

2,619



670



305



(322)



3,272



27



3,299
















Nonoperating income (expense)














Interest income

19





1





20





20


Interest expense

(23)





(7)



(3)



(33)





(33)


Other

15







4



19





19


Total Nonoperating income (expense)

 

11





(6)



1



6





6


Income (loss) before income tax

$

1,053



$

72



$

14



$

2



$

1,141



$

(27)



$

1,114


 


Nine Months Ended September 30, 2015


Alaska












Mainline


Regional


Horizon


Parent &
Consolidating(a)


Air Group
Adjusted(b)


Special
Items(c)


Consolidated

Operating revenues














Passenger














Mainline

$

2,977



$



$



$



$

2,977



$



$

2,977


Regional



638







638





638


  Total passenger revenues

2,977



638







3,615





3,615


CPA revenues





303



(303)








Freight and mail

79



4







83





83


Other - net

465



55



3





523





523


Total operating revenues

3,521



697



306



(303)



4,221





4,221
















Operating expenses














Operating expenses, excluding fuel

1,951



514



274



(302)



2,437





2,437


Economic fuel

641



101







742



(1)



741


Total operating expenses

2,592



615



274



(302)



3,179



(1)



3,178
















Nonoperating income (expense)














Interest income

15







1



16





16


Interest expense

(21)





(8)



(3)



(32)





(32)


Other

21







5



26





26


Total Nonoperating income (expense)

15





(8)



3



10





10


Income (loss) before income tax

$

944



$

82



$

24



$

2



$

1,052



$

1



$

1,053




(a)    

Includes consolidating entries, Parent Company, and other immaterial business units.



(b)    

The adjusted column represents the financial information that is reviewed by management to assess performance of operations and determine capital allocations and does not include certain charges.  See Note A in the accompanying pages for further information.



(c)     

Includes accounting adjustments related to mark-to-market fuel-hedge accounting charges, and other special items described previously.

 

Alaska Air Group, Inc.


CASM EXCLUDING FUEL RECONCILIATION (unaudited)


Three Months Ended September 30,


Nine Months Ended September 30,

(in cents)

2016


2015


2016


2015

Consolidated:








CASM

10.40

¢


10.44

¢


10.08

¢


10.75

¢

Less the following components:








Aircraft fuel, including hedging gains and losses

2.01



2.37



1.81



2.51


Special items - merger-related costs

0.19





0.11




CASM excluding fuel and special items

8.20

¢


8.07

¢


8.16

¢


8.24

¢









Mainline:








CASM

9.19

¢


9.45

¢


8.93

¢


9.74

¢

Less the following components:








Aircraft fuel, including hedging gains and losses

1.91



2.26



1.72



2.41


CASM excluding fuel and special items

7.28

¢


7.19

¢


7.21

¢


7.33

¢

 

FUEL RECONCILIATIONS (unaudited)


Three Months Ended September 30,


2016


2015

(in millions, except for per-gallon amounts)

Dollars


Cost/Gallon


Dollars


Cost/Gallon

Raw or "into-plane" fuel cost

$

218



$

1.55



$

235



$

1.78


Losses on settled hedges

4



0.03



5



0.04


Consolidated economic fuel expense

222



1.58



240



1.82


Mark-to-market fuel hedge adjustment

3



0.02



5



0.03


GAAP fuel expense

$

225



$

1.60



$

245



$

1.85


Fuel gallons

140





132













Nine Months Ended September 30,


2016


2015

(in millions, except for per gallon amounts)

Dollars


Cost/Gallon


Dollars


Cost/Gallon

Raw or "into-plane" fuel cost

$

590



$

1.44



$

727



$

1.93


Losses on settled hedges

12



0.03



15



0.04


Consolidated economic fuel expense

$

602



$

1.47



$

742



$

1.97


Mark-to-market fuel hedge adjustment

(9)



(0.02)



(1)




GAAP fuel expense

$

593



$

1.45



$

741



$

1.97


Fuel gallons

410





377




 

Note A: Pursuant to Regulation G, we have provided reconciliations of reported non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable financial measures reported on a GAAP basis. We believe that consideration of these non-GAAP financial measures may be important to investors for the following reasons:

  • By eliminating fuel expense and certain special items from our unit metrics, we believe that we have better visibility into the results of operations and our non-fuel cost-reduction initiatives. Our industry is highly competitive and is characterized by high fixed costs, so even a small reduction in non-fuel operating costs can result in a significant improvement in operating results. In addition, we believe that all domestic carriers are similarly impacted by changes in jet fuel costs over the long term, so it is important for management (and thus investors) to understand the impact of (and trends in) company-specific cost drivers such as labor rates and productivity, airport costs, maintenance costs, etc., which are more controllable by management.
  • Cost per ASM (CASM) excluding fuel and certain special items is one of the most important measures used by management and by the Air Group Board of Directors in assessing quarterly and annual cost performance.
  • Adjusted Income before income tax and CASM excluding fuel, and other special items, are important metrics for the employee incentive plan that covers all Air Group employees.
  • CASM excluding fuel and certain special items is a measure commonly used by industry analysts, and we believe it is the basis by which they compare our airlines to others in the industry. The measure is also the subject of frequent questions from investors.
  • Disclosure of the individual impact of certain noted items provides investors the ability to measure and monitor performance both with and without these special items. We believe that disclosing the impact of certain items, such as mark-to-market hedging adjustments or Virgin America merger-related costs, is important because it provides information on significant items that are not necessarily indicative of future performance. Industry analysts and investors consistently measure our performance without these items for better comparability between periods and among other airlines.
  • Although we disclose our passenger unit revenues, we do not (nor are we able to) evaluate unit revenues excluding the impact that changes in fuel costs have had on ticket prices. Fuel expense represents a large percentage of our total operating expenses. Fluctuations in fuel prices often drive changes in unit revenues in the mid-to-long term. Although we believe it is useful to evaluate non-fuel unit costs for the reasons noted above, we would caution readers of these financial statements not to place undue reliance on unit costs excluding fuel as a measure or predictor of future profitability because of the significant impact of fuel costs on our business.

Note B: Air Group has two operating airlines - Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air. Each is a regulated airline with separate management teams primarily in operational roles. To manage the two operating airlines, management views the business in three operating segments. Alaska operates a fleet of passenger jets (Alaska Mainline) and contracts with Horizon, SkyWest Airlines, Inc. (SkyWest), and Peninsula Airways, Inc. (PenAir) for regional capacity under which Alaska receives all passenger revenue from those flights (Alaska Regional). Horizon operates a fleet of turboprop aircraft and sells all of its capacity to Alaska pursuant to a capacity purchase arrangement. The Company believes the amounts paid by Alaska to Horizon approximate current market rates received by other regional carriers for similar flying and are available to pay for various Horizon operating expenses such as crew expenses, maintenance, and aircraft ownership costs.  All inter-company revenues and expenses between Alaska and Horizon are eliminated in consolidation.

Glossary of Terms

Aircraft Utilization - block hours per day; this represents the average number of hours our aircraft are flying

Aircraft Stage Length - represents the average miles flown per aircraft departure

ASMs - available seat miles, or "capacity"; represents total seats available across the fleet multiplied by the number of miles flown

CASM - operating costs per ASM, or "unit cost"; represents all operating expenses including fuel and special items

CASMex - operating costs excluding fuel and special items per ASM; this metric is used to help track progress toward reduction of non-fuel operating costs since fuel is largely out of our control

Debt-to-capitalization ratio - represents adjusted debt (long-term debt plus the present value of future operating lease payments) divided by total equity plus adjusted debt

Diluted Earnings per Share - represents earnings per share using fully diluted shares outstanding

Diluted Shares - represents the total number of shares that would be outstanding if all possible sources of conversion, such as stock options, were exercised

Economic Fuel - best estimate of the cash cost of fuel, net of the impact of our fuel-hedging program

Free Cash Flow - total operating cash flow generated less cash paid for capital expenditures

Load Factor - RPMs as a percentage of ASMs; represents the number of available seats that were filled with paying passengers

Mainline - represents flying Boeing 737 jets and all associated revenues and costs

PRASM - passenger revenue per ASM; commonly called "passenger unit revenue"

Productivity - number of revenue passengers per full-time equivalent employee

RASM - operating revenue per ASMs, or "unit revenue"; operating revenue includes all passenger revenue, freight & mail, Mileage Plan, and other ancillary revenue; represents the average total revenue for flying one seat one mile

Regional - represents capacity purchased by Alaska from Horizon, SkyWest, and PenAir.  In this segment, Alaska Regional records actual on-board passenger revenue, less costs such as fuel, distribution costs, and payments made to Horizon, SkyWest and PenAir under the respective capacity purchased arrangement (CPAs).  Additionally, Alaska Regional includes an allocation of corporate overhead such as IT, finance, other administrative costs incurred by Alaska and on behalf of Horizon.

RPMs - revenue passenger miles, or "traffic"; represents the number of seats that were filled with paying passengers; one passenger traveling one mile is one RPM

Yield - passenger revenue per RPM; represents the average revenue for flying one passenger one mile

 

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/alaska-air-group-reports-third-quarter-2016-results-300348212.html

SOURCE Alaska Air Group, Inc.