Company Reports Record Profit for the Month of December and the first December Quarterly Profit in Five Years
DENVER, Jan. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Frontier Airlines Holdings, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: FRNTQ - News) today filed its Monthly Operating Report for December 2008. Frontier reported a consolidated operating profit of $18.9 million and a net profit of $18.7 million for the month. Excluding special items, the Company reported an operating profit of $18.3 million and a net profit of $17.0 million. The Company, excluding special items, reported an operating margin of 16.8 percent and a total net margin of 15.5 percent for the month.
Special items for the month included:
Non-cash mark-to-market gains on fuel hedge contracts of $0.6 million
Net gain of $1.4 million in reorganization expense, due to the sale of two A319 aircraft sold in the month for a book gain of $4.1 million, which was offset by other reorganization expenses of $2.7 million
Loss on early extinguishment of debt of $0.3 million
When combining the Operating Reports for each of the months comprising the December quarter, the Company reported a consolidated operating profit of $5.6 million and a net profit of $1.1 million. Excluding special items, the Company reported an operating profit of $14.4 million and a net profit of $7.7 million for the quarter.
Special items for the quarter included:
Non-cash mark-to-market losses on fuel hedge contracts of $8.7 million
Charges of $0.4 million on early extinguishment of debt
Gain of $2.7 million in reorganization activities, including $8.1 million on the sale of four A319 aircraft and expenses of $5.4 million
Frontier's cash position increased to $69.1 million for the period ending December 2008. The Company realized net proceeds of $25.5 million from the sale of two aircraft, which was offset by a decrease in working capital due to the traditionally low booking period at the end of the year.
"These outstanding results are a testament to the sacrifices and hard work put forth by all of our employees," said Frontier President and CEO Sean Menke. "We have worked extremely hard throughout our restructuring to achieve these results that are bucking industry trends. Despite significant competitive pressure and a rapidly changing macro-economic environment, we have been able to reduce our operating expenses, increase revenues and maintain our high quality of service."
Financial and restructuring highlights during the quarter:
For the quarter, mainline unit costs excluding fuel, decreased 4.2 percent to 6.20 cents, despite a 16.0 percent reduction in mainline capacity, an 8.0 percent reduction in stage length and an average fleet utilization decrease of 7.2 percent
For the quarter year-over-year, mainline passenger unit revenue increased by 7.2 percent, and total mainline unit revenue increased by 10.2 percent
Load factor for the quarter improved 3.9 points versus the prior year period
Negotiated and secured long-term concessionary agreements with all represented labor groups
Successfully launched AirFairs, an innovative, customer-friendly fare structure that lets customers choose from one of three fare levels that best meets their specific travel needs
Sold four A319 aircraft, adding significant liquidity to the Company
Among the industry leaders in key DOT performance metrics
Companies in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection are required to file monthly operating reports to the U.S. Trustee in addition to quarterly reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
A copy of the Monthly Operating Report is available at:
FrontierAirlines.com/frontier/who-we-are/investor-rel ations/annual-reports-sec-filings.do
