Benzinga | Oct 21, 2021 12:11PM EDT

Alaska Air Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates

* Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) reported third-quarter FY21 operating revenue growth of 179% year-over-year to $1.95 billion, beating the consensus of $1.93 billion.

* Passenger revenue improved by 210% Y/Y to $1.77 billion.

* Adjusted EPS improved to $1.47 compared to $(3.23) in 3Q20, beating the consensus of $1.29.

* Operating expenses increased by 33% Y/Y to $1.69 billion. The company reported an operating income of $258 million, compared to a loss of $(571) million same quarter last year.

* The company reported an adjusted pre-tax margin of 12% for the quarter.

* Alaska Air generated cash from operating activities year-to-date totaled $901 million.

* Revenue passengers increased by 173.5% Y/Y, traffic increased by 203.7%, capacity increased by 83.3% Y/Y, and Load factor increased 3,280 basis points to 80.3%.

* Alaska Air Group held $3.2 billion in unrestricted cash and marketable securities as of September 30, 2021.

* The company prepaid $425 million in debt from the 364-day term loan facility, bringing total debt payments to $1.2 billion for the year.

* Outlook: Alaska Air expects fourth-quarter total revenue to decline ~16% - 19% versus 4Q19.

* Price Action: ALK shares are trading higher by 0.24% at $57.39 during the pre-market session on Thursday.