Alaska Air Group Q2 Profit Rises - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Alaska Air Group, Inc. (ALK) reported that second-quarter net income grew to $234 million or $1.79 per share from $165 million or $1.19 per share in the prior-year quarter.

Excluding mark-to-market fuel hedge adjustments, adjusted net income for the quarter was $230 million or $1.76 per share, compared to $157 million or $1.13 per share in the year-ago quarter.

On average, 15 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $1.73 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Operating revenues for the quarter increased 5 percent to to $1.44 billion from $1.38 billion in the same quarter last year. Analysts expected revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter.

The airline said its traffic, measured in revenue passenger miles or RPMs, for the quarter rose 9.0 percent to 8.45 billion, and capacity, measured in available seat miles or ASMs, grew 10.7 percent to 9.95 billion from last year. Meanwhile, load factor for the quarter was 84.9 percent, down 1.4 points from 86.3 percent reported last year.