An Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 plane sits at a gate at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Jan. 6, 2024.
Stephen Brashear| Bloomberg | Getty Images
Alaska Airlines on Wednesday warned that softer travel demand will eat into earnings within the second quarter, the newest in a chorus of carriers seeing weaker-than-expected bookings.
Alaska said bookings have stabilized but forecast a six-percentage-point headwind on account of “softer demand.”
The carrier, which merged with Hawaiian Airlines last yr, said it expects second-quarter unit revenue to be flat to down as much as 6% over a yr ago and anticipates adjusted earnings per share of $1.15 to $1.65, lower than the $2.47 a share Wall Street analysts had forecast.
The airline said it would not update its full-year guidance, citing “economic uncertainty and volatility,” but said it still expects to be profitable even when revenue is under pressure within the second half of the yr.
Alaska’s unit revenue rose 5% in the primary quarter from last yr, higher than larger rivals’ domestic unit sales. Chief Financial Officer Shane Tackett said customers are still booking trips but at lower-than-expected fares.
“The fares aren’t as strong as they were within the fourth quarter of last yr and coming into January and first a part of February,” he said in an interview Wednesday. “Demand continues to be quite high for the industry, it’s just not at the height that all of us anticipated might proceed coming out of last yr.”Â
“Alaska is built for times like these with our relentless deal with safety, care and performance,” CEO Ben Minicucci said in an earnings release. “Amid the economic uncertainty, our teams controlled what they’ll control and delivered results that strengthen our foundation for the long run.”
Here is how Alaska performed within the first quarter compared with Wall Street expectations, in accordance with consensus estimates from LSEG:
- Loss per share: 77 cents adjusted vs. an expected lack of 75 cents
- Revenue:Â $3.14 billion vs. $3.17 billion expected
In the primary quarter, Alaska posted a net lack of $166 million, down from a lack of $132 million a yr ago, and revenue of greater than $3.1 billion, which was up 41% from a yr ago and shy of analysts’ forecasts.
Adjusting for one-time items, Alaska reported a lack of 77 cents per share for the three months that ended March 31, below analysts’ estimates.
