Alaska Air Group, parent of Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, has reported a 6% decline in total revenue declined to $1,465 million in 3Q14, which was due to a special item recorded in 3Q13. Passenger revenue increased by 6.9% during the third quarter, primarily due to an increase in traffic or revenue passenger miles (or RPM), which grew by 7.5% thanks to an 8% increase in available seat miles. Load factor dipped by 0.5%, however.
Alaska’s unit cost decreased by 2.2% to 11.99 cents in 3Q14. Alaska’s operating margin reduced from 30.2% in 3Q13 to 21.6% in 3Q14, but its adjusted net margin increased by 3.6% to 13.7%. Adjusted EPS was $1.47, a 33% increase compared to the previous year.
In 2014, the company paid $51 million in dividends and repurchased 5.3 million shares for $242 million, which represents ~3.2% of its market capitalization. Out of $242 million, $159 million worth of shares were repurchased during 3Q14.