Spirit Airlines has reported a first quarter 2024 net loss of $142.6 million or ($1.30) per diluted share on a year-over-year decline in revenue of 6.2 percent to $1.27 billion. At March 31, 2024, the carrier had total availability liquidity of $1.2 billion.
On Monday (May 6, 2024), Spirit Airlines reported their first quarter financial results for the period ending March 31, 2024. The carrier reported a first quarter net loss of $142.6 million or ($1.30) per diluted share on a 6.2 percent year-over-year decline in revenue to $1.27 billion. Spirit’s first quarter total revenue per available seat mile (TRASM) declined 8.2 percent compared to the same period last year to 9.38 cents, while cost per available seat mile (CASM) declined 1.4 percent to 10.92 cents. Costs, excluding fuel (CASM-ex) increased 6.2 percent compared to Q1 2023 to 7.67 cents. At the end of the first quarter, Spirit had cash, cash equivalents, short-term investments and available liquidity under their revolving credit facility of $1.2 billion.
In Monday’s announcement, Spirit Airlines’ President and Chief Executive Officer, Ted Christie, said,
“While we reported a loss in the first quarter 2024, we are making progress towards our financial goals. I thank the entire Spirit team for their continued focus on running a reliable operation and delivering value to our Guests as we implement our go-forward standalone plan. There are numerous steps to rollout the plan in a successful, orderly fashion, but we are on track and we are excited to unveil the milestones to you over the coming months.
“The competitive environment remains challenging due to elevated capacity in many of the markets we serve. Nevertheless, we are confident that the strategic changes we are implementing, together with our cost saving initiatives, will allow Spirit to compete effectively in today's marketplace and drive continuous improvement in the years ahead.”
Also commenting on the carrier’s first quarter 2024 financial results, Spirit’s Chief Financial Officer, Scott Haralson, said,
“Over the last several months, our team has been engaged working on the first phase of our new standalone business plan. While we were hopeful for a successful merger with JetBlue, over the last year we have been working in the background to prepare for the possibility that the merger would not be allowed to proceed. The first phase of our standalone plan involved finalizing our AOG compensation agreement with Pratt & Whitney, reducing near term capacity to improve working capital, rightsizing the resources in the business to our expected lower level of capacity and additional liquidity improvements. We believe the combination of AOG compensation, aircraft deferrals and cost savings will improve our cash levels by $450-$550 million in 2024. All of this was done to prepare us for phase two of our go-forward evolution, which we plan to start rolling out over the coming months. The pending merger and engine AOGs have made the last year disruptive for our team, but we are on the cusp of making changes which we believe will position us on the road back to sustained profitability. Also, Spirit’s advisors have started discussions with our loyalty bondholders and convert holders that come due in September 2025 and May 2026, respectively, and expect a resolution at some point this summer.”
Dania Beach, Florida-based low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines (NYSE: SAVE) is committed to offering the best value in the sky with service to nearly 100 destinations in the U.S., Latin America, and the Caribbean. The airline allows customers to select and pay for only the products and services they want, something they call “À La Smarte.” Spirit also operates one of the youngest and most fuel-efficient fleets in the U.S. The carrier proudly calls their youthful fleet of aircraft their “Fit Fleet®.” Spirit Airlines operates a fleet of 205 Airbus A320 Family and A320neo Family aircraft.
Source: Spirit Airlines