- Alaska Air Group Inc (NYSE:ALK) reported fourth-quarter FY21 operating revenue growth of 135% year-over-year to $1.899 billion, marginally ahead of the consensus of $1.89 billion. Passenger revenues improved by 161% Y/Y to $1.72 billion.
- Adjusted EPS improved to $0.24 compared to $(2.54) in 4Q20, missing the consensus of $0.29.
- Operating expenses increased by 33% Y/Y to $1.86 billion. The company reported an operating income of $39 million, compared to a loss of $(595) million same quarter last year.
- The company reported an adjusted pre-tax margin of 2.4% for the quarter and a debt-to-cap ratio of 49%.
- Revenue passengers increased by 134.8% Y/Y, traffic increased by 158.3%, capacity increased by 47.5% Y/Y, and Load factor increased 3,410 basis points to 79.4%.
- Alaska Air generated cash from operating activities for FY21 of $1.03 billion. It held $3.1 billion in unrestricted cash and marketable securities as of December 31, 2021.
- The company repaid $112 million debt in Q4, bringing total debt payments to $1.3 billion for the year.
- The company noted its financial performance enabled it to restore the debt-to-capitalization ratio to pre-pandemic levels in Q4, priming the airlines for profitable growth in 2022.
- Price Action: ALK shares are trading lower by 1.59% at $51.48 during the pre-market session on Thursday.
