Sun Country Airlines has reported a third quarter net profit of $10.7 million or $0.18 per diluted share on a year-over-year increase in revenue of 27.7 percent to $221.7 million. At September 30, 2022, the carrier had total liquidity of $285.2 million.
On Tuesday (November 1, 2022), Sun Country Airlines reported their third quarter financial results for the period ending September 30, 2022. The carrier reported a third quarter net profit of $10.7 million or $0.18 per share on a year-over-year increase in revenue of 27.2 percent to $221.7 million. Sun Country’s total revenue per available seat mile (TRASM) increased 32.4 percent versus Q3 2021 to 12.75 cents, while the carrier’s cost per available seat mile (CASM) increased year-over-year by 35.1 percent to 13.28 cents. Adjusted costs - excluding fuel, special items, non-cash management stock compensation, cargo operations costs, and other expenses (CASM-ex) increased 18.2 percent versus Q3 2021 to 7.55 cents. At September 30, 2022, Sun Country Airlines had total liquidity of $285.2 million, including cash, cash equivalents, short-term investments and sum available under a revolving credit facility.
In Tuesday’s announcement, Sun Country Airlines’ Chief Executive Officer, Jude Bricker, said,
“The leisure demand environment remains very strong, as our third quarter scheduled service unit revenue increased 39% versus third quarter 2021. Despite fuel prices that were higher than expected and the impact of Hurricane Ian on our Florida operations, we produced a GAAP operating margin of 6.9% and an adjusted operating income margin of 7.2%. O ur business model continues to demonstrate its inherent resiliency. Even with fuel prices 83% higher than last year and staffing-driven constraints on our capacity, we generated a year-to-date GAAP and adjusted operating income margin of 6%.”
Also commenting on the carrier’s third quarter results, Sun Country’s President and Chief Financial Officer, Dave Davis, said,
“Unit revenue has continued to strengthen throughout the quarter. Scheduled service TRASM increased 39% year over year and 46% versus the third quarter of 2019 while TRASM, including charter revenue, increased 32% year over year and 38% versus third quarter 2019.
“ We continue to make significant progress in expanding our pilot training pipeline and have hired 91 pilots in 2022, a 20% increase in the number of pilots at Sun Country. While we have seen substantial improvement in our training throughput, we still have work to do to generate the pilots that we need to support our growth plans.
“In the third quarter, we were smaller than we would like to be, putting pressure on unit costs. As we increase utilization closer to historical levels in 2023, we anticipate these pressures to ease. Third quarter performance was also impacted by Hurricane Ian, which reduced total revenue by an estimated $1 million.”
Sun Country Airlines' Third Quarter 2022 Financial Results - Courtesy Sun Country Airlines/Globe Newswire
During the third quarter, Sun Country’s Board authorized management to repurchase up to $50 million worth of SNCY shares, and expressed their intent to enter into a $25 million Accelerated Share Repurchase (ASR) agreement with their brokering bank, to facilitate rapid retirement of the acquired shares. The carrier also announced the launch of new direct service between Minneapolis and Destin-Fort Walton Beach and Melbourne, Florida starting February 2023, expanding their Florida network to 12 destinations. Additionally, Sun Country announced an expansion of service to Orlando, with new flights from Eau Claire, Green Bay and Madison (Wisconsin) from April 2023.
Sun Country Airlines (NASDAQ: SNCY) is a new breed of hybrid low-cost carrier founded in 1983 by a small group of pilots and flight attendants. The award winning Minneapolis-St. Paul based airline has distinguished itself as a leader in leisure travel over its nearly 40 years of service. Sun Country offers low fares and safe, reliable, nonstop service on around 100 routes serving 78 airports across the U.S., Mexico, Central America, Canada and the Caribbean. Additionally, the carrier offers services through their Sun Country Charters and Sun Country Vacations divisions, and also operates cargo CMI services for Amazon.
In trading Wednesday afternoon (November 2, 2022), shares in Sun Country Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: SNCY) were up 16.49 percent to $19.07/share (2:26 PM EDT).
Source: Sun Country Airlines/Globe Newswire