=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SFGate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/n/a/2007/01/25/financial/= f234543S80.DTL --------------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday, January 25, 2007 (AP) Storms Punish Frontier With 3Q Net Loss By SANDY SHORE, AP Business Writer (01-25) 23:45 PST DENVER (AP) -- Back-to-back holiday storms that punished Frontier Airlines in December and pushed its third-quarter loss deeper have lingered into January, the company's chief executive says. In separate reports Thursday, Midwest Air Group Inc. and Alaska Air Group Inc. reported improved earnings, although Alaska Air said winter storms also hurt its performance. Frontier Airlines canceled 875 flights that affected 105,000 passengers when two December storms battered its hub at Denver International Airport, forcing the airport to close for nearly two days. The carrier, which released results after the market closed Thursday, sa= id the net after-tax impact of the storms was estimated at $12.2 million, or 27 cents a share. Frontier President and CEO Jeff Potter said the storms proved to be "the greatest challenge in our history as an airline excluding the events of Sept. 11, 2001." "We continue to suffer some adverse effects from the winter storms of December and the subsequent storms which continue to impact our Denver hub even as recently as this week," he said in a statement. Passengers who had planned to fly in December and return in January never left Denver, said Paul Tate, Frontier's chief financial officer. In addition, reservations employees were so busy helping stranded passengers that they were unable to book new trips. For the quarter that ended Dec. 31, Frontier Airlines Holdings Inc. reported a net loss of $14.4 million, or 39 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $10.3 million, or 28 cents a share, in the previous third quarter. The most recent results reflected a non-cash derivative gain that decreased the net loss by 2 cents a share. The third quarter of the previous year included special items that increased the net loss by about 3 cents a share. In the first nine months of its fiscal year, Frontier reported a net loss of $9.9 million, or 27 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $6.1 million, or 17 cents a share, in the same period a year earlier. Revenue totaled $878.4 million, up from $741.8 million in the first nine months of the previous fiscal year. Seattle-based Alaska Air Group, parent of Alaska Air and Horizon Air, reported a net loss of $11.6 million, or 29 cents per share, in the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with a loss of $33 million, or $1.15 per share, in the prior-year quarter. Excluding fuel-hedging losses and an adjustment of pension costs, the fourth-quarter loss would have been 8 cents per share. Revenue totaled $790.3 million, up 8 percent from $730.6 million in the comparable quarter of 2005. The results missed the expectations of analysts polled by Thomson Financial, who had forecast flat earnings on revenue of $793.4 million. "Alaska looked a little bit worse than expectations," Calyon Securities analyst Raymond Neidl said, attributing it to storm-related challenges. For the year, Alaska Air said net loss was $52.6 million, or $1.39 per share, versus a loss of $5.9 million, or 1 cent a share, in 2005. Revenue totaled $3.33 billion, up 12 percent from $2.98 billion. The 2006 results included charges related to severance programs and fuel hedging adjustments, while the 2005 results reflected charges for severance programs, fuel hedging and other factors. Based in Milwaukee, Midwest Air Group reported fourth-quarter earnings on the same day its board recommended that shareholders reject a buyout offer worth $345 million from AirTran Holdings Inc. Midwest, the parent of Midwest Airlines and Midwest Connect, posted fourth-quarter net income of $3.6 million, or 16 cents a share, reversing last year's fourth-quarter loss of $13.8 million, or 79 cents a share. Revenue totaled $168.3 million in the most recent quarter, up from $142.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2005. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had forecast earnings per share of 11 cents on revenue of $168.4 million. For the year, Midwest Air reported net income of $5.4 million, or 29 cen= ts a share, compared with a loss of $64.9 million, or $3.71 a share, in 2005. The previous year's results reflected an impairment charge on aircraft equipment, capitalized expense write-offs and other special charges equal to 98 cents share, the company said. The full year's revenue totaled $664.5 million, up from nearly $523 million in the previous year. ___ Associated Press writers Emily Fredrix in Milwaukee and Curt Woodward in Seattle contributed to this report. ___ On the Net: Frontier Airlines: Alaska Air Group: Midwest Air Group: www.frontierairlines.com www.alaskaair.com www.midwestairlines.com ------------------------------------------------= ---------------------- Copyright 2007 AP