Spirit Airlines Announces Third Quarter 2011 Results

MIRAMAR, Fla., Oct. 27, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Spirit Airlines, Inc. (Nasdaq:SAVE) today reported third quarter 2011 financial results.

Net income for the third quarter was $28.6 million, or $0.39 per diluted share, excluding $1.5 million ($0.9 million net of tax) of unrealized fuel hedge losses and special items. GAAP net income was $27.7 million, or $0.38 per diluted share.

Operating income was $46.1 million, resulting in a 16.0% operating margin, excluding $1.5 million of unrealized fuel hedge losses and special items. GAAP operating income was $44.6 million for the third quarter 2011, resulting in a 15.4% operating margin.

EBITDAR for the third quarter 2011 was $77.4 million, resulting in an EBITDAR margin of 26.8%, excluding unrealized fuel hedge losses and special items.

Spirit ended the quarter with $351 million in unrestricted cash.
“In this period of economic uncertainty, customers are looking to save money and our strong third quarter results demonstrate the power of Spirit’s low fares to stimulate demand in the marketplace,” said Ben Baldanza, Spirit’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Thanks to the efforts of our hard-working employees, Spirit is a successful company that can deliver profitable returns while offering the low fares our customers crave.”

Revenue Performance

For the third quarter 2011, Spirit’s total operating revenue was $288.7 million, an increase of $85.1 million, or 41.8%, as compared to third quarter 2010. Higher passenger volumes, a strong pricing environment, and non-ticket revenues contributed to the increase in operating revenue. Increased capacity as well as a growing acceptance of Spirit’s low fare model by customers looking to save money contributed to higher passenger volumes.

Total revenue per available seat mile (“RASM”) increased to 11.92 cents, up 28.4% as compared to the third quarter last year driven primarily by higher operating yields and a load factor increase of 3.8 points to 87.0%.

Total revenue per passenger flight segment (“PFS”) increased to $126.37, an 18.5% increase as compared to the third quarter 2010. Average ticket revenue per PFS increased to $81.71, up 12.9% year-over-year. Average non-ticket revenue per PFS increased to $44.66, up 30.4% year-over-year. The increase was primarily driven by the introduction of the charge for carry-on bags introduced in August 2010 and enhancements in checked bag pricing. In addition, the Company experienced continued growth in revenue from many previously adopted non-ticket revenue initiatives.

During the quarter, Spirit began offering complete vacation packages on its website. Spirit customers now have a one-stop place to go for great deals on air, hotel and car rentals.

Cost Performance

Total operating expenses in the third quarter 2011 were $244.2 million, up 33.7% over the same period last year primarily due to an increase in fuel expense resulting from a more than 40% increase in the cost of fuel per gallon and a capacity increase of 10.4%. Increased capacity also drove higher non-fuel costs.

Cost per available seat mile excluding special items and fuel (“CASM ex-fuel”) for the third quarter 2011 was 5.74 cents, a 5.9% increase year-over-year. Average stage length for the third quarter 2011 decreased 3.3% as compared to third quarter 2010 contributing 1.8 points to the year-over-year increase in CASM ex-fuel. Increases in distribution costs and maintenance expenses were primary drivers of increased CASM ex-fuel. Flight cancellations related to Hurricane Irene also had a negative impact on CASM-ex-fuel for the quarter.

Driven by higher revenues, distribution costs increased 30%, or 18% on a per ASM basis, compared to the same period last year. The increase in distribution costs was primarily driven by an increase in credit card fees that closely correlate to revenues. In addition, Spirit experienced a shift in distribution channel from its website to third-party travel agents which is a more expensive distribution channel than selling direct through its website. This shift in distribution mix did not materially affect operating income because the revenues received from sales through third-party travel agents more than offset the associated incremental cost.

A higher number of routine, scheduled maintenance events and a higher number of unscheduled maintenance events as well as a decrease in average stage length were the primary drivers of maintenance expense increasing 38.9%, or 23.7% on a per ASM basis, year-over-year. The average age of Spirit’s fleet increased to 4.5 years as of September 30, 2011 compared to 3.8 years as of September 30, 2010. Maintenance expense is expected to continue to increase as the fleet ages; however, on a unit cost basis, this increase is expected to be partly offset as Spirit continues to add new Airbus aircraft to its fleet. As of September 30, 2011, Spirit operated 35 aircraft. Spirit has 33 aircraft on order, which are scheduled to deliver between November 2011 and the end of 2015.

Balance Sheet

Spirit ended the quarter with $351 million in total cash and cash equivalents. In prior periods, the Company’s largest credit card processor was at 100% holdback which resulted in the Company having a significant restricted cash balance at the end of the second quarter 2011. During the third quarter 2011, this processor released its holdback such that at the end of the third quarter 2011, Spirit had zero credit card holdback and no restricted cash.

At the end of the quarter, Spirit had no debt on its balance sheet.

Third Quarter Highlights

Consistent with its growth strategy, Spirit liberated the following city pairs besieged by high fares:
Chicago and Dallas
Chicago and Boston
Chicago and Detroit
Chicago and New York LaGuardia
Las Vegas and Oakland/San Francisco
Las Vegas and San Diego
Las Vegas and Portland, Oregon
During the quarter, Spirit completed negotiations with its largest credit card processor for the release of all credit card holdbacks.
In September 2011, Spirit opened a new professional learning center. Over the next four years, Spirit is planning to double the size of its fleet and will be adding jobs to support the growth of its operation. The learning center will allow for one convenient, centralized location to train new Spirit employees.
Conference Call/Webcast Details

Spirit Airlines will conduct a live audio webcast of its conference call with analysts and media journalists today at 1:00 p.m. ET. The webcast will be available to the public on a listen-only basis at http://ir.spirit.com. An archive of the webcast will be available under Webcasts & Presentations for 60 days.

About Spirit Airlines

Spirit Airlines (Nasdaq:SAVE) empowers customers to save money on air travel by offering ultra low base fares with a range of optional services for a fee, allowing customers the freedom to choose only the extras they value. This innovative approach grows the traveling market and stimulates new economic activity while creating new jobs. Spirit’s modern fleet, configuration and other innovations enable Spirit to burn less fuel per seat than competitors, making Spirit one of the most environmentally-friendly U.S. carriers. Spirit’s all-Airbus fleet currently operates more than 175 daily flights to over 45 destinations throughout the U.S., Latin America and Caribbean. Visit Spirit at www.spirit.com.