Hawaiian Airlines loses $50.2 million in the quarter

Hawaiian Holdings Inc. on Tuesday reported a fourth-quarter loss of $50.2 million and enters this year with a financial performance that, according to Peter Ingram, Hawaiian’s president and CEO, “is a long way from complete.” recovery is far away”.

The Honolulu-based company said it posted a loss of 98 cents per share in the fourth quarter. Adjusted for one-time costs, the loss was 49 cents per share.

Fourth-quarter results beat Wall Street expectations. The average estimate from three analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research was a loss of 71 cents per share. Hawaiian Airlines’ parent company posted revenue of $731 million during that period, falling short of Street’s forecasts. Three analysts polled by Zacks expected $737.6 million.

For full year 2022, the company reported that its loss widened to $240.1 million, or $4.67 per share. Sales were reported at $2.64 billion.

Ingram said during an earnings call Tuesday that “the natural question for investors to ask is why Hawaiian is taking longer to return to profitability than other U.S. carriers.”

He said Hawaiian’s cost outlook is relative to that of other U.S. airlines, but Hawaiian’s revenue is where its 2022 results and near-term outlook differ from those of its peers.

“Not because we underperform our competitors on certain routes, but because of the specifics of the markets in which we compete,” said Ingram. “We don’t control the timing of demand recovery from Japan, we only make decisions on one side of the competition for the neighboring island. And even in North America – the profitable North America-to-Hawaii market – compared to 2019, the supply-demand environment is less favorable than in the domestic and transatlantic markets. As a result, I cannot predict the timing of the return to profitability as accurately as I would like.”

Ingram said Hawaiian has slowed the delivery of capacity to Japan in recent weeks. “While we remain hopeful that Japanese travelers’ longstanding affinity for Hawaiian vacations will manifest over time, we must also be pragmatic about allocating capacity elsewhere if recovery remains slow,” he said.

Brent Overbeek, Hawaiian’s senior vice president and chief revenue officer, also noted that late-2022 bookings for North American travel showed signs of a decline in the first quarter. However, Overbeek said: “These have improved in recent weeks and we are also encouraged by bookings, even with some price reductions initiated by other airlines.”

Last quarter, Ingram spoke at length about the competitive environment with Southwest Airlines on neighboring island routes, which was affecting its near-term financial performance. During that conference call, he said, “We hold our ground and remain determined that we will win in the end and come out stronger on the other side.”

Overbeek added, “Our competitor no longer offers $39 for the last seat like it did in the second half of 2022, but low fares are common in the market.”

He said, “The latest DOT stats show that our load factor (percentage of available seats occupied) was 22 points higher than our competitor’s in the third quarter, and our average fare of approximately $51 was nearly double that.” from them.”

Ingram said Hawaiian is focused on what it can control, from unlocking operational efficiencies to investing in a continuum of initiatives to position the company for sustained success.

Shares of Hawaiian were up 56 cents at $12.32 during the regular trading session, but then fell 11.4%, or $1.40, at $10.92 after the close.

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The Associated Press contributed to this story.

FOURTH QUARTER LOSS

$50.2 million

2019 FOURTH QUARTER NET

$49.7 million