Benzinga | Jan 27, 2022 07:39AM EST

Alaska Air Reports Q4 Results, EPS Misses Street View

* Alaska Air Group Inc (NYSE:ALK) reported fourth-quarter FY21 operating revenue growth of 135% year-over-year to $1.899 billion, marginally ahead of the consensus of $1.89 billion. Passenger revenues improved by 161% Y/Y to $1.72 billion.

* Adjusted EPS improved to $0.24 compared to $(2.54) in 4Q20, missing the consensus of $0.29.

* Operating expenses increased by 33% Y/Y to $1.86 billion. The company reported an operating income of $39 million, compared to a loss of $(595) million same quarter last year.

* The company reported an adjusted pre-tax margin of 2.4% for the quarter and a debt-to-cap ratio of 49%.

* Revenue passengers increased by 134.8% Y/Y, traffic increased by 158.3%, capacity increased by 47.5% Y/Y, and Load factor increased 3,410 basis points to 79.4%.

* Alaska Air generated cash from operating activities for FY21 of $1.03 billion. It held $3.1 billion in unrestricted cash and marketable securities as of December 31, 2021.

* The company repaid $112 million debt in Q4, bringing total debt payments to $1.3 billion for the year.

* The company noted its financial performance enabled it to restore the debt-to-capitalization ratio to pre-pandemic levels in Q4, priming the airlines for profitable growth in 2022.

* Price Action: ALK shares are trading lower by 1.59% at $51.48 during the pre-market session on Thursday.