JetBlue Airways Corp. said its second-quarter earnings soared,
as higher traffic pushed up revenue and the company benefited from
the sale of a subsidiary.
Earlier this year, JetBlue unveiled a sweeping management
reorganization that included the departure of its chief operating
officer and three vice presidents--which fueled questions about the
future for Chief Executive Dave Barger, whose contract runs out in
February.
The company has largely lagged its rivals, as it remains in an
industry middle ground, between much larger, full-service carriers
like Delta Air Lines Inc. that are improving their service and
profitability, and successful ultra-discounters like Spirit
Airlines Inc. that go after passengers who just want rock-bottom
fares, investors and analysts say.
JetBlue reported a profit of $230 million, or 68 cents a share,
up from $36 million, or 11 cents a share, a year earlier. The
quarter's results also included a $242 million gain from the sale
of subsidiary LiveTV LLC.
Excluding special items, earnings were 19 cents a share, up from
11 cents a year earlier. Revenue rose 12% to $1.49 billion, beating
expectations. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected per-share
profit of 19 cents and revenue of $1.51 billion.
Operating expenses increased 9.8% to $1.35 billion.
Passenger revenue per available seat mile, which is an important
measure of performance for the industry, increased 6%. Passenger
traffic climbed 5.7% and capacity rose 6%. The percentage of seats
filled--or load factor--slipped to 84.6% from 84.9%.
For the third quarter, JetBlue expects capacity to increase
between 3% and 5%. The company backed its forecast for full-year
capacity growth of 4% to 6%.
Write to Erin McCarthy at erin.mccarthy@wsj.com
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