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JetBlue Airways (JBLU) Earnings Beat, Revenues Miss in Q1
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Low-cost carrier, JetBlue Airways Corporation’s (JBLU - Free Report) first-quarter 2017 earnings (excluding special items) of 25 cents per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny, which pleased the investors. Consequently, shares of the company increased in pre-market trading. Quarterly earnings, however, declined 57.63% from the year-ago figure due to higher costs.
Operating revenues came in at $1,604 million, short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,617.8 million. Revenues declined 0.8% from the year-ago figure. Passenger revenues, which accounted for bulk of the top line (90.5%), declined 1.8% in the first quarter of 2017. Other revenues increased 10.4%.
Operating Statistics
Capacity, measured in available seat miles, expanded 4.2% year over year. Traffic, measured in revenue passenger miles, grew 3.9% in the first quarter. Load factor (percentage of seats filled by passengers) declined 30 basis points (bps) year over year to 83.9% in the reported quarter as traffic growth was outpaced by capacity expansion.
Yield per passenger mile fell 5.5% year over year to 12.73 cents in the reported quarter. While passenger revenue per available seat mile (PRASM) declined 5.8% to 10.68 cents, operating revenue per available seat mile (RASM) decreased 4.8% to 11.81 cents.
Operating Income and Expenses
In the first quarter, total operating expenses (on a reported basis) increased 15% year over year. Average fuel cost per gallon (including fuel taxes) escalated 44.1% to $1.69. Moreover, JetBlue’s operating cost per available seat mile (CASM) increased 10.3% to 10.73 cents in the reported quarter. Excluding fuel, the metric also climbed 3.3% to 8.35 cents on the back of rise in labor costs.
Balance Sheet
JetBlue carrying a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), exited the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $438 million compared with $433 million at the end of 2016. Total debt, at the end of the quarter was $1,337 million as against $1,384 million at the end of 2016. In fact, the company is constantly working toward reducing its debt levels. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Outlook
For the second quarter of 2017, the carrier expects capacity to increase in the band of 4% to 6%. For the full-year 2017 the metric is still projected to increase in the range of 5.5% to 7.5%. Also, CASM, excluding fuel, is expected to grow in the band of 4.5% to 6.5%. For the full-year 2017 the metric is still anticipated to grow in the range of 1.5% to 3.5%. Furthermore, RASM is projected to grow in the range of 3% to 6% in the same period on a year-over-year basis.
JetBlue Airways Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Investors interested in the airline space keenly await the first-quarter earnings reports of SkyWest, Inc. (SKYW - Free Report) , Spirit Airlines (SAVE - Free Report) and Alaska Air Group (ALK - Free Report) , slated for release on Apr 27, Apr 28 and Apr 26, respectively.
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JetBlue Airways (JBLU) Earnings Beat, Revenues Miss in Q1
Low-cost carrier, JetBlue Airways Corporation’s (JBLU - Free Report) first-quarter 2017 earnings (excluding special items) of 25 cents per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny, which pleased the investors. Consequently, shares of the company increased in pre-market trading. Quarterly earnings, however, declined 57.63% from the year-ago figure due to higher costs.
Operating revenues came in at $1,604 million, short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,617.8 million. Revenues declined 0.8% from the year-ago figure. Passenger revenues, which accounted for bulk of the top line (90.5%), declined 1.8% in the first quarter of 2017. Other revenues increased 10.4%.
Operating Statistics
Capacity, measured in available seat miles, expanded 4.2% year over year. Traffic, measured in revenue passenger miles, grew 3.9% in the first quarter. Load factor (percentage of seats filled by passengers) declined 30 basis points (bps) year over year to 83.9% in the reported quarter as traffic growth was outpaced by capacity expansion.
Yield per passenger mile fell 5.5% year over year to 12.73 cents in the reported quarter. While passenger revenue per available seat mile (PRASM) declined 5.8% to 10.68 cents, operating revenue per available seat mile (RASM) decreased 4.8% to 11.81 cents.
Operating Income and Expenses
In the first quarter, total operating expenses (on a reported basis) increased 15% year over year. Average fuel cost per gallon (including fuel taxes) escalated 44.1% to $1.69. Moreover, JetBlue’s operating cost per available seat mile (CASM) increased 10.3% to 10.73 cents in the reported quarter. Excluding fuel, the metric also climbed 3.3% to 8.35 cents on the back of rise in labor costs.
Balance Sheet
JetBlue carrying a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), exited the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $438 million compared with $433 million at the end of 2016. Total debt, at the end of the quarter was $1,337 million as against $1,384 million at the end of 2016. In fact, the company is constantly working toward reducing its debt levels. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Outlook
For the second quarter of 2017, the carrier expects capacity to increase in the band of 4% to 6%. For the full-year 2017 the metric is still projected to increase in the range of 5.5% to 7.5%. Also, CASM, excluding fuel, is expected to grow in the band of 4.5% to 6.5%. For the full-year 2017 the metric is still anticipated to grow in the range of 1.5% to 3.5%. Furthermore, RASM is projected to grow in the range of 3% to 6% in the same period on a year-over-year basis.
JetBlue Airways Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
JetBlue Airways Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | JetBlue Airways Corporation Quote
Other Important Releases Coming Up
Investors interested in the airline space keenly await the first-quarter earnings reports of SkyWest, Inc. (SKYW - Free Report) , Spirit Airlines (SAVE - Free Report) and Alaska Air Group (ALK - Free Report) , slated for release on Apr 27, Apr 28 and Apr 26, respectively.