Allegiant Travel Company has reported full year 2021 performance, with pre-tax GAAP income of $196.6 million, and adjusted pre-tax income of $45.7 million, yielding a pre-tax margin of 2.7%. Allegiant reports consolidated EBITDA of $444.1 million, yielding an EBITDA margin of 26.0%; with adjusted EBITDA of $293.2 million, yielding an adjusted EBITDA margin of 17.2%. Total operating revenue was $1.7 billion, 7.2% below 2019.
Allegiant’s total system capacity increased 8.1% when compared with 2019.
"We finished the year with adjusted earnings per share of $2.04, one of the only domestic carriers to record a full-year adjusted profit," stated Maurice J. Gallagher, Jr., chairman and CEO of Allegiant Travel Company. "This is a remarkable feat and could not have been accomplished without the support of our team members. 2021 was a challenging year, yet we remained nimble and continued to learn and adapt. Despite impacts from multiple variants throughout the year, we grew scheduled capacity more than eight percent when compared to 2019. Load factors sequentially improved throughout the year with fourth quarter loads of 77.1 percent, a more than twenty-point increase from the first quarter. We grew fourth quarter revenue by 7.8 percent when compared with 2019, finishing the year with total operating revenue of $1.7 billion, just seven percent below 2019.”
Gallagher noted the additional pressures caused by the Omicron variant in the fourth quarter of 2021, which caused “unprecedented crew shortages due to COVID, resulting in cancelled flights during the peak holiday travel season and persisting throughout January”. He expects operations to return to a “more normalized state in time for peak March travel”.
"Despite the Omicron variant, forward bookings are strong for upcoming peak leisure travel periods. Spring break bookings have been particularly strong. Over the past several months, the booking curve has normalized to its pre-COVID state, and although early, we are beginning to see positive demand trends into early summer. In addition, third-party revenues have outperformed 2019 due primarily to strength with our cobrand credit card program.”
Allegiant expects to end 2022 with 127 aircraft, with the fleet set to expand further as deliveries from its recent Boeing order of 50 737 MAX aircraft, powered by CFM LEAP 1-B engines, begin from mid-2023.
Allegiant’s total debt at December 31, 2021 was $1.7 billion – net was $559.8 million, a 42.5 percent decrease from year-end 2020. Fourth quarter spend was $56 million, which included $29 million for the acquisition of two aircraft as well as induction costs and $27 million in other airline capital expenditures. Fourth quarter deferred heavy maintenance spend was $12 million – full year was $61 million. Full year 2021 capital expenditures were $205 million, which included $136 million for the acquisition of seven aircraft and one engine as well as induction costs and $69 million in other airline capital expenditures.