News
JetBlue nearly triples Q4 profit
Jan. 26, 2012, New York, N.Y. - JetBlue said Thursday that its fourth-quarter profit nearly tripled on a sharp increase in passengers and milder weather that allowed the New York airline to run many more flights on schedule.
January 26, 2012 By Carey Fredericks
The results topped Wall Street estimates. JetBlue shares rose 23 cents, or 4.1 per cent, to $5.80 in morning trading.
The airline said its net income rose to $23 million, or 8 cents per share, in the three months ended Dec. 31. That's up from $8 million, or 3 cents per share, a year earlier.
Revenue rose 22 per cent to $1.15 billion from $938 million a year ago. Higher ticket prices and fees drove its yield up 11 per cent. A winter storm in December 2010 walloped its bases in New York and Boston, hitting revenue by $30 million.
FactSet said analysts expected earnings of 4 cents on revenue of 1.13 billion.
JetBlue Airways Corp. said traffic in the last three months of the year rose 11 per cent as it added new destinations and flights.
JetBlue's results echo earnings growth at most of its fellow US airlines.
Delta Air Lines Inc. and US Airways Group Inc. both reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday, capping two straight years of annual profits.
The parent company of United and Continental airlines posted a narrower fourth-quarter loss Thursday as the cost of integrating the two carriers fell. Southwest Airlines Co. reported higher net income last week.
