Sun file photo
Southwest Airlines planes sit at McCarran International Airport.
Published Thursday, July 29, 2010 | 8:12 a.m.
Updated Thursday, July 29, 2010 | 10:32 a.m.
Southwest Airlines 2Q 2010 report
| 2Q 2010 | 2Q 2009 | % change | 1Q 2010 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $3.17 billion | $2.62 billion | 21.1% | $2.63 billion |
| Earnings | $112 million | $91 million | 23.1% | $11 million |
| Earnings per share | 15 cents | 12 cents | 25% | 1 cent |
Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV)
- By passenger volume, Southwest is the No. 1 carrier at McCarran International Airport.
- Southwest has announced that its seasonal schedule change in November would remove 12 daily flights from its Las Vegas schedule, including the only nonstop flights to and from MacArthur Airport at Islip, N.Y. on Long Island and to Norfolk, Va.
- Southwest began service to Panama City Beach, Fla., including connecting flights from Las Vegas, in May.
- Southwest announced in May that next year it would begin serving Charleston and Greenburg-Spartanburg, S.C.
- Southwest paid a half-cent dividend to shareholders on July 7.
- Southwest had a 52-week high stock price of $13.97 on April 21.
- July 28 stock price: $12.01.
- Southwest earnings beat analysts’ projections by 2 cents a share.
Dallas-based Southwest Airlines, the market leader at McCarran International Airport, rode an all-time-high quarter for revenue to become the fifth of six major air carriers to be profitable in 2010’s second quarter.
Southwest, which averages 217 daily flights to and from Las Vegas and has a 40 percent market share at McCarran, reported earnings today of $112 million, 15 cents a share, on revenue of $3.17 billion. That compares with earnings of $91 million, 12 cents a share, on revenue of $2.62 billion in the same quarter a year earlier.
Analysts had projected Southwest would have pre-special expense earnings of 27 cents a share for the quarter, which ended March 31. Before special expenses, Southwest had earnings of 29 cents for the quarter.
Southwest Chairman, President and CEO Gary Kelly said in a release announcing earnings that revenue trends could continue in the third quarter with record loads anticipated in July. He attributed the airline’s revenue success to the company’s policy of not charging for bags and excellent customer service offered by employees.
“We experienced record traffic levels during the quarter, despite flat year-over-year capacity, demonstrating a continuing and significant market share shift to Southwest, in part due to our unique and successful ‘Bags Fly Free’ policy,” Kelly said. “Further, we led the industry with our year-over-year domestic passenger revenue and corresponding unit revenue performance.
“We see no signs that the momentum will stall in second half 2010,” he added. “Based on traffic and revenue trends to date, we expect strong year-over-year unit revenue growth in third quarter 2010.”
Southwest’s profitable quarter was in line with other airlines with Delta, United, Continental and US Airways having higher revenue and earnings for the quarter that ended June 30. Only American Airlines failed to make a quarterly profit among the major carriers.
Southwest’s successes aren’t translating into greater opportunities in Las Vegas, however, as the airline’s recently announced new schedule removes 12 round trips from McCarran’s schedule beginning in November. While the schedule adjustment is routine for Southwest and a seasonal change, it removes more than 1,600 incoming seats a day for the city.
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