Alaska Air reports a loss despite $50 million in aid

Associated Press

SEATTLE — More than $50 million in aid from the government’s airline bailout package wasn’t enough to keep Alaska Air Group profitable, as the company reported a wider loss for the fourth quarter.

Hurt by the decline in air travel since Sept. 11, the parent company for Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air said Friday it had a net loss of $36.4 million, or $1.37 a share, for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with a loss of $28.9 million, or $1.09 a share, a year ago.

The results included $52.3 million in pretax funding from the government’s airline bailout package and a $10.2 million charge to retire Horizon’s fleet of F-28 aircraft. Excluding those one-time items, the company lost $62.9 million, or $2.37 a share, in the quarter.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial/First Call were expecting a loss of $2.21 a share.

"It’s not too different from the weakness that everybody was expecting," said Paul Latta, an analyst with McAdams Wright Ragen in Seattle.

Revenue for the quarter was $462.2 million, compared with $532.4 million in the same period last year.

Despite the loss, Alaska officials said the company fared better than many others in the airline industry. Traffic at Alaska was down 5.6 percent for the quarter, compared with 19 percent industrywide.

"The entire airline industry has been struggling in the wake of Sept. 11, but fortunately we’ve been much less impacted here on the West Coast," Alaska chairman and chief executive John Kelly said.

To date, the company has received $81.4 million in federal assistance. It has applied for an additional $12.3 million in assistance for 2002, the company said.

Kelly said there have been few layoffs and a slight increase in passenger loads. He said the company plans to have its schedule back to 100 percent by Feb. 10, and will add new routes on both airlines this year.

Latta expects Alaska to have a tough year that includes another net loss, but was impressed by the company’s aggressive expansion.

"I think it’s gutsy of them to be taking on new routes," he said. "If we get a step up in the economy, it’ll be looked at as brilliant in hindsight."

For the year ended Dec. 31, Alaska Air Group lost $39.5 million, or $1.49 a share, compared with a loss of $70.3 million, or $2.66 a share in 2000.

The 2000 results include a major charge for the cumulative effect of an accounting charge; without the charge, the company lost $13.4 million, or 51 cents a share, in 2000.

Revenue for the year was $2.14 billion, compared with $2.18 billion in the previous year.

Shares in Alaska were up 8 cents to $30.51 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.