Alaska Airlines has raised its fourth quarter guidance due to stronger revenue performance and lower non-operating expense.
The Seattle based carrier expects its profit per share to be between $0.40 and $0.50 compared to the range of $0.20 to $0.40 cents forecast earlier.
The airline noted that November revenue performed better than expected, despite Thanksgiving travel patterns shifting to early December. Revenue in December is currently outperforming the airline’s previous expectations, due to stronger holiday demand.
Non-operating expenses for the quarter were revised from -$50 million to -$45 million, along with capacity projections for the quarter having been slightly reduced due to adverse weather conditions.
Additionally, CASMex rose modestly, driven by increased profit-sharing accruals stemming from stronger than expected earnings.
As a result of the fourth quarter improvement, Alaska now expects full year adjusted earnings per share to be $4.25 to $4.50, in comparison to the previous expectation of $3.50 to $4.50 per share.