Updated at 3:47 p.m., Thursday, May 10, 2007
Mesa posts first quarterly loss since Sept. 11 attacks
Advertiser Staff
Mesa Air Group, the parent of interisland carrier go!, reported a net loss of $24 million in its fiscal second quarter, it's first quarterly loss since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.Phoenix-based Mesa also said earnings for go! were $700,000 below projections as competitors such as Hawaiian Airlines increased capacity on their interisland routes.
The company did not provide further financial details on go!'s latest quarterly results.
The bulk of Mesa's losses came from its Mainland operations. Flight cancelations due to bad weather hurt its United Express regional carrier, which it flies on a contract basis for United Airlines. Profits from United Express were down $4.7 million during the quarter.
The company said its quarterly results were affected by $23.4 million in noncash charges from United Express and Delta Connection regional service. Minus the charges, the company said it would have earned $4.5 million, or 13 cents per share.
The first quarter loss compares with a gain of $5.3 million in the same quarter a year earlier. On a per share basis, Mesa reported a net loss of 54 cents in the three months ending March 31, 2007, compared with net income of 14 cents per share in the year-earlier quarter.
The quarterly loss was the first for Mesa since 2001 when earnings of many airlines suffered as a result of the terrorist attacks.
Shares of Mesa rose 8 cents yesterday to close at $6.77 per share on the Nasdaq market.
