INVESTOR RELATIONS

All News Releases Financial News

Print Friendly Version Convert to PDF Convert to RTF Related Assets Bookmark and Share

Aug 2, 2002

Frontier Airlines Reports Fiscal First Quarter 2003 Results


DENVER (Aug. 1, 2002) - Frontier Airlines (Nasdaq: FRNT) today reported a fiscal first quarter net loss of $2.9 million, or $0.10 per common share, compared with net income of $7.7 million, or $0.26 per diluted common share, for the airline's fiscal first quarter last year. Operating revenues during the airline's fiscal first quarter decreased 9.3 percent to $111.8 million from $123.3 million in the fiscal first quarter of 2002, while operating expenses during the same time increased 3.2 percent to $115.6 million from $112.0 million from the same period last year. The airline had positive cash flow from operations during its fiscal first quarter 2003, and earnings performance for the month of June 2002 was approximately breakeven.

Chief Executive Officer's Comments

Frontier President and CEO Jeff Potter said, "We are disappointed with our fiscal first quarter results, and we are clearly experiencing the revenue challenges that have befallen the rest of the industry. Although leisure traffic has rebounded this summer, business traffic has not returned as quickly. Those factors, when coupled with what we believe are the excess capacity and unsustainable pricing strategies that appear rampant in our industry, have reinforced our attention to continue lowering our unit costs. I am pleased to report that our unit cost reduction efforts have been productive as evidenced by our ability to operate at approximately breakeven during the month of June 2002, when our average fare was extremely depressed at $105. Because we do not know when unit revenues and yield will rebound, or how traffic will perform this fall, we must ensure our unit costs continue to trend favorably, reflecting the cost efficiencies of our new Airbus aircraft, continued scrutiny of capital expenditures and improved productivity.

"Improving our revenue outlook continues to be a key focus, and we plan to take necessary steps to allocate our resources appropriately this fall when travel historically weakens. In addition, we recently simplified our pricing and inventory structure, and are pleased with the apparent yield improvements resulting from that initiative.

"Looking forward to our fall performance, excluding pre-delivery deposits for new Airbus aircraft, we anticipate operating with positive cash flows during our fiscal second quarter, and estimate reporting a moderate loss for the period."

Operating Highlights

The airline's cost per available seat mile (CASM) for the quarter decreased 13.4 percent to 8.44 cents from 9.75 cents for the same quarter last year. Fuel cost per gallon during the quarter, including taxes and the cost of delivering fuel into the aircraft, decreased 13.9 percent to 83.4 cents per gallon, compared to 96.9 cents for the same period last year. CASM excluding fuel decreased 12.8 percent to 7.17 cents from the same period last year when CASM excluding fuel was 8.22 cents.

The airline's traffic, as measured by revenue passenger miles (RPMs), grew at a rate of 10.7 percent during its fiscal first quarter, while capacity growth, as measured by available seat miles (ASMs), increased by 19.2 percent, from the same time last year. As a result, the airline's load factor was 62.8 percent for its fiscal first quarter, 4.8 load factor points less than last year's load factor of 67.6 percent during the same time period. During fiscal first quarter 2003, the airline's breakeven load factor increased 4.8 load factor points from 60.6 percent to 65.4 percent.

Although the airline carried 9.7 percent more passengers during its fiscal first quarter 2003 over the same period last year, passenger revenue per passenger mile (yield) for the same time period decreased 18.2 percent to 12.71 cents from 15.54 cents for the same period last year. Passenger revenue per available seat mile (RASM) for the quarter decreased 24.1 percent to 7.98 cents from 10.51 cents for the same period last year. The airline's average fare during its fiscal first quarter 2003 was $108, a 19.4 percent decrease from its fiscal first quarter 2002, when the average fare was $134.

Potter continued, "We were very pleased with our unit cost performance during our fiscal first quarter even though only six Airbus aircraft were in the fleet at the beginning of the quarter. We anticipate continued improvements in this area as additional Airbus aircraft are brought into our fleet. In addition, our CASM improvements were achieved despite receiving benefits from the discontinuation of travel agent commissions only since June 1, 2002.

"For the last three quarters of our current fiscal year, we anticipate bringing a total of seven more Airbus A319 aircraft into our fleet, including advancing the delivery of one Airbus A319 to March 2003 that was originally scheduled to enter our system in December 2003. During the same period, we will return six leased Boeing aircraft, for a net gain of one aircraft.

"We are planning to modify our fall and winter flight schedules to reflect current industry challenges. We don't anticipate that these schedule changes will result in any more than a slight reduction in ASMs compared to earlier capacity forecasts that we've previously communicated on our Web site."

Business Developments During the Quarter Included:
· Accepted delivery of three 132-seat Airbus A319 aircraft, bringing the airline's total fleet size at the end of its fiscal first quarter 2003 to 33 aircraft (17 Boeing 737-300s, 7 Boeing 737-200s, 9 Airbus A319 aircraft);
· Inaugurated service to five new cities, including mainline service to Indianapolis, IN; Boise, ID; and Tampa, FL; and Frontier JetExpress service, as operated by Mesa Air Group, to Ontario, CA and St. Louis, MO;
· Launched Frontier FlyAways through a partnership with Planet Earth Exploration LLC to offer vacation packages in most Frontier cities;
· Began performing revenue accounting processes in-house, using SITA's Passenger Revenue Accounting system (PRA);
· Enrolled approximately 55,000 new members in EarlyReturns, bringing the total number of members of the airline's frequent flyer program to over 330,000;
· Generated 26.4 percent of flown revenue during the three months ended June 30, 2002 via the airline's Web site, and 40.9 percent of flown revenue during the three months ended June 30, 2002 via all Web sites;
· Signed a Letter of Intent with LiveTV to begin installation of DIRECTV on the airline's Airbus fleet later this fall;
· Filed an application with the Air Transportation Stabilization Board (ATSB) for a $70 million line of credit, of which 85 percent would be secured by a federal government guarantee.

Available Cash Comparisons

Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments available for operations and investing activities on June 30, 2002 were $79.1 million. Cash provided by operating activities, excluding the repayment of $4.0 million in Federal grand funds for the quarter ended June 30, 2002, was $6.4 million, compared to $23.1 million for the same period last year. The airline reported working capital of $28.3 million as of June 30, 2002, a 29.0 percent decrease from the airline's working capital on March 31, 2002, when the airline reported working capital of $40.0 million.

Potter concluded, "During our fiscal first quarter 2003, we submitted our request with the Air Transportation Stabilization Board (ATSB) for a $70 million line of credit, of which 85 percent would be secured by a federal government guarantee. We took this step in order to ensure a level playing field as we compete with carriers that continue to operate excess capacity with fare levels below their breakeven costs, and because the dominant carrier in Denver has applied for a government loan guarantee of nearly $2 billion.

"Though we are operating in an extremely challenging environment, I am proud of the Frontier team as our employees continue to offer outstanding customer service and find ways to increase their productivity. Our past experience provides an excellent example of what a group of people can do when they believe in a company and its mission, and I have no doubt that this team will weather the current environment and continue building a great airline."
The airline has updated its capacity forecast for fiscal year 2003 on the investor relations section of its Web site at www.frontierairlines.com. Senior leadership will host a conference call to discuss its quarterly earnings on Aug. 2, 2002 at 9:00 a.m. Mountain Daylight Time. The call is available via the World Wide Web on the airline's Web site at www.frontierairlines.com or using the following URL: http://www.vcall.com/EventPage.asp?ID=82050.

Currently in its ninth year of operations, Denver-based Frontier Airlines is the second largest jet service carrier at Denver International Airport with a fleet of 34 aircraft and employing approximately 3,000 aviation professionals. Frontier and its affiliate Frontier JetExpress currently serve 34 U.S. cities with 170 daily flights. In 1999, 2000 and 2001, Frontier's maintenance and engineering department received the Federal Aviation Administration's highest award, the Diamond Certificate of Excellence, in recognition of 100 percent of its maintenance and engineering employees completing advanced aircraft maintenance training programs. In April 2002, Entrepreneur ranked Frontier one of two "Best Low-Fare Airlines," and in September 2001, Fortune ranked Frontier 41st on its 100 Fastest Growing Companies list. Frontier provides capacity information and other operating statistics on its Web site, which may be viewed at www.frontierairlines.com.

Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Frontier notes that this press release contains forward-looking statements and that certain information contained in this press release involves risks and uncertainties that could result in actual results differing materially from expected results. These statements include, but are not limited to, the ability to conserve financial resources while operating in a highly competitive hub, the ability to increase future revenues and the ability to achieve additional unit cost reductions. Forward-looking statements represent the Company's expectations and beliefs concerning future events, based on information available to the Company as of the date of this press release. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which cannot be predicted with accuracy and some of which might not even be anticipated. Some of the factors that could significantly impact the forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to: the uncertainty of leisure travel and corporate travel expenditures as we enter the historically weak period of post-summer travel; capacity and pricing actions of directly competing airlines; general industry capacity and pricing decisions; competitors' schedule and route decisions; the higher costs associated with new airline security directives; the higher costs of aircraft insurance coverage for future claims caused by acts of war, terrorism, sabotage, hijacking and other similar perils; additional incidents that could cause the public to question the safety and/or efficiency of air travel; operational disruptions; industry consolidation; air traffic control-related difficulties; the impact of labor issues; actions of the federal and local governments; enhanced security requirements; the stability of the U.S. economy; the economic environment of the airline industry; the timing of, and expense associated with, expansion and modification of our operations in accordance with our business strategy or in response to competitive pressures or other factors; increased federal scrutiny of low-fare carriers generally that may increase our operating costs or otherwise adversely affect us; the unavailability of, or inability to secure upon acceptable terms, financing necessary to purchase aircraft that we have ordered; issues relating to our transition to an Airbus aircraft fleet; uncertainties regarding aviation fuel prices; operational disruptions as a result of bad weather; and actions of the U.S. and local government and regulatory agencies. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this press release. Additional information regarding these and other factors may be contained in the Company's SEC filings, including without limitation, the Company's 10-K for its fiscal year ended March 31, 2002 and the Company's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2001.

FRONTIER AIRLINES, INC. SELECTED BALANCE SHEET DATA
(In Thousands)
(unaudited)
June 30,
2002
2001
Cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments $79,050 $102,082
Current assets $183,271 $188,495
Total assets $466,802 $338,782
Current liabilities $154,930 $146,684
Long-term debt $112,886 $23,076
Total liabilities $298,926 $185,105
Stockholder's equity $167,876 $153,677
Working Capital $28,341 $41,811
>

Related Assets


Other articles in Financial News: < back

Contact

Media Line
Phone: 720-374-4560
media@flyfrontier.com

Latest Features

Login

Login:

Password:

Register
Forgot Password