=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SF Gate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/news/archive/2003/07/22/f= inancial1239EDT0103.DTL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday, July 22, 2003 (AP) Midwest Express reports $1 million operating loss for quarter (07-22) 09:39 PDT MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Midwest Express Holdings Inc., which avoided a bankruptcy filing last week, reported a second-quarter profit of $6.6 million Tuesday, benefiting from security-fee reimbursements from the government. The profit was equivalent to 42 cents per share and compared with a prof= it of $935,000, or 7 cents per share in the same period a year ago. Excluding special gains and losses, though, the carrier reported an operating loss of $1 million. The company said second-quarter revenue decreased 16.4 percent, from $116 million in 2002 to $96.9 million in 2003. "In the second quarter, we began to realize the benefits of our cost reduction and revenue-generation initiatives," said Timothy E. Hoeksema, chairman and chief executive officer. "Although industry conditions -- particularly aggressive competitive pricing and continued high fuel prices -- remain serious challenges, our outlook is significantly improved." Midwest Express received $11.4 million from the federal government throu= gh an industrywide reimbursement for security fees. The government aid program ends in September. For the first six months of the year, the Milwaukee-based carrier had a net loss of $5.2 million on revenue of $191 million, compared with a profit of $4.8 million on revenue of $220 million during the same period in 2002. Executives said they were able to avert a Chapter 11 filing last week through negotiations with labor unions and lessors. Like most airlines, Midwest has struggled because of a drop in tourism since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and the weak economy. Midwest Airlines and Midwest Connect serve a combined 37 cities with 280 flights each weekday and an average 8,000 daily passengers. =20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2003 AP