Southwest Posts Earnings of $224 Million in Second Quarter Results Jul 25th 2013, 11:03
Southwest Airlines has reported its second quarter 2013 results. Second quarter 2013 net income was $224 million, or $.31 per diluted share, which included $50 million (net) of unfavorable special items. This compared to net income of $228 million, or $.30 per diluted share, in second quarter 2012, which included $45 million (net) of unfavorable special items. Excluding special items, second quarter 2013 net income was a record $274 million, or $.38 per diluted share, compared to $273 million, or $.36 per diluted share, in second quarter 2012. Reported results were in line with the First Call consensus estimate of $.38 per diluted share.
Gary C. Kelly, Southwest’s CEO said that the airline’s performance “benefited from all-time high operating revenues and lower fuel prices. In addition, our focus on managing costs resulted in modest year-over-year cost inflation despite significant investments in fleet modernization and other strategic initiatives.”
Industry expert, Henry Hartevelt, Travel Industry Analyst and Strategist at Hudson Crossing told TravelPulse that “Southwest seems to be prospering based on inertia, not innovation. It's AirTran merger is proceeding at a snail's pace. The airline's revenue growth is unimpressive. What really helped Southwest was a substantial decline in its fuel costs, which are down 5.6% versus Q2 2012. Southwest's PRASM was 2.2% lower than a year ago, which concerns me. Though Southwest did earn a net profit, the airline cannot legitimately view this as a successful quarter.”
YOUR COMMENT
