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Spirit Airlines (SAVE) Beats on Q1 Earnings, Down Y/Y

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Spirit Airlines, Inc. (SAVE - Free Report) posted first-quarter 2018 earnings per share (on an adjusted basis) of 44 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 43 cents. Earnings, however, decreased on a year-over-year basis mainly due to higher fuel costs.

How Was the Estimate Revision Trend?

Investors should note that the earnings estimate revisions for Spirit Airlines depicted a healthy picture even prior to the latest earnings beat. The company has an impressive earnings history having outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters with an average beat of 3.5%.

The stock had seen the Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter earnings being revised 13.2% upward over the last 30 days.

Spirit Airlines, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

 

Spirit Airlines, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise | Spirit Airlines, Inc. Quote

Revenues Lower Than Expected

Spirit Airlines recorded revenues of $704.1 million, marginally missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $705 million. Revenues were, however, 19.4% higher than the year-ago figure. The uptick was driven by an increase in passenger revenues.

Key Stats to Note: In the reported quarter, total revenue per available seat mile increased 21.4% year over year. Load factor (% of seats filled by passengers) decreased to 81% from 81.6% in the year-ago quarter. Load factor decreased as traffic growth was outpaced by capacity expansion (22.3%) during the reported quarter. Adjusted cost per available seat mile, excluding special items and fuel decreased 5%. Average fuel cost per gallon (economic) increased 21.5% in the quarter. Total revenue per available seat miles (a key measure of unit revenue) decreased 2.4%.

Zacks Rank:Currently, Spirit Airlines has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) but that could change following the company’s earnings report which was just released. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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