Spirit Airlines has reported a fourth quarter net loss of $270.7 million or ($2.49) per diluted share on a 40.9 percent year-over-year increase in revenue to $1.4 billion. At December 31, 2022, the carrier had total liquidity of $1.8 billion.
On Monday (February 6, 2023), Spirit Airlines reported their fourth quarter and full year financial results for the period ending December 31, 2022. The carrier reported a fourth quarter net loss of $271 million or ($2.49) per diluted share on a year-over-year increase in revenue of 40.9 percent to $1.4 billion. Excluding net special items, Spirit reported a Q4 adjusted net income of $12.6 million or $0.12 per diluted share. The net special items primarily reflect legal, advisory and other fees related to the proposed merger with Frontier Airlines, later terminated, and the subsequent agreement to merge with JetBlue. For the full year, Spirit reported a net loss of $554.2 million or ($5.10) per diluted share. At December 31, 2022, the airline had unrestricted cash, cash equivalents, short term investment securities and liquidity under a revolving credit facility totaling $1.8 billion.
In Monday’s announcement, Spirit Airlines’ President and Chief Executive Officer, Ted Christie, said,
“I want to thank the entire Spirit Team for their contributions in overcoming the many challenges we faced during 2022. Thanks to their dedication and relentless pursuit to implement more efficient and effective strategies, we made excellent progress on the steps necessary to return Spirit to sustained profitability. Leisure demand has remained strong and our team is doing a great job maximizing revenue production. In the fourth quarter 2022, despite a significant number of weather-related flight cancellations during the peak holiday period, our team delivered better-than-expected unit revenue performance. In fact, when adjusting for capacity increases, our unit revenue performance in the fourth quarter was amongst the best in the industry, when compared to 2019.”
Spirit’s fourth quarter total revenue per available seat mile (TRASM) increased year-over-year by 25.7 percent to 10.81 cents, while costs per available seat mile (CASM) increased 44.4 percent compared to Q4 2021 to 13.18 cents. Adjusted CASM increased year-over-year by 13.6 percent to 10.36 cents, while adjusted costs excluding fuel (Adjusted CASM-ex) decreased 0.3 percent to 6.52 cents.
During the fourth quarter, Spirit took delivery of 10 new Airbus A320neos, ending the year with a fleet of 194 aircraft, up 33.8 percent versus Q4 2019. The company’s total CAPEX for 2022 was $246.1 million, primarily related to the purchase of spare parts, including four spare engines, two flights simulators, and other expenditures related to the construction of Spirit’s new headquarters campus in Dania Beach, Florida.
Miramar, Florida-based low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines (NYSE: SAVE) is committed to offering the best value in the sky with service to 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 194 Airbus A320 Family and A320neo Family aircraft.
Source: Spirit Airlines