Midwest Air Group Reports Profit for First Time in 3 Years:

[FN FAL]

Midwest Air Group reports profit for first time in 3 years

By EMILY FREDRIX
AP Business Writer

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- With more passengers traveling more miles, Midwest Air Group Inc. said Thursday it posted a profit of $8.8 million for the second quarter, rebounding from several years of losses.

The parent company of Midwest Airlines and Midwest Connect said earnings per share for the second quarter improved to 39 cents, up from a loss of 47 cents at the same time last year, when the company posted a loss of $8.2 million.

Revenue was up 34 percent to $176.9 million, from $131.6 million last year. The last time the Milwaukee-based company saw a net profit was in the second quarter of 2003, it said.

For the first six months of this year, Midwest Air Group said it had a profit of $100,000, up from a loss of $24.1 million in the first half of last year.


Chairman and chief executive officer Timothy E. Hoeksema said a rise in passengers, plus higher fares - an industrywide trend - helped offset higher fuel costs. Passengers increased 16.7 percent, while their miles traveled increased 28.6 percent.
"The continuing improvement in the industry environment and the positive revenue and cost trends we've been experiencing are beginning to pay off," he said.

Analysts had expected earnings of 29 cents per share and sales of nearly $178 million.

A nearly 50 percent rise in fuel prices, a $20 million increase, negatively impacted earnings by $13.9 million, or 59 cents per share, the company said.

The additional traffic meant for a 21.2 percent increase in total operating expenses, the company said.

Both the company's airlines saw large gains in market share in their hubs of Milwaukee and Kansas City, Mo. They claimed more than half of all passengers departing from Milwaukee, a rise of about 5 percent from last year, and 10.6 percent of passengers leaving Kansas City, up from nearly 8 percent the year before.

The company also began phasing in more flights to its 10 markets, which include Atlanta, Baltimore, New York La Guardia and San Diego.

Midwest Air Group plans to phase in nonstop, seasonal service to places in Florida, such as Ft. Myers, Orlando and Ft. Lauderdale in the third quarter.

Shares of Midwest Air Group fell 39 cents, or almost 8 percent, to $5.29 a share in midday trading Thursday on the American Stock Exchange.

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[generaltso]

I think it's about time to add some 50 seat feed! (to bring that profit down to a loss)