During the three months to end March 2014, Southwest Airlines reported a net income of $152 million, compared to a net profit of $59 million in the year-ago period.
Revenue increased by 2% to $4.17 billion while expenses dropped by 1.6% to $3.95 billion. This resulted in an operating profit of $215 million, compared to $70 million in 2013.
Southwest’s traffic grew 1.7% to 24.16 billion RPMs on a 1.1% cut in capacity to 30.47 billion ASMs. Its load factor rose by 2.2 percentage points to 79.3%.
CFO Tammy Romo commented that thanks to the “very strong first quarter … we’re close to our 15% ROIC goal and we plan to hit it this year”.
Gary C. Kelly, Chairman of the Board, President, and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "I am delighted to report record first quarter earnings, which increased significantly year-over-year, despite the disruption caused by more than 7,500 of our flights canceled due to extreme weather conditions and the impact of the shift in timing of the Easter and Passover holidays. This outstanding performance was driven by record first quarter operating revenues of $4.2 billion, and a 1.2 percent year-over-year decline in total operating costs, excluding special items, driven largely by lower fuel prices and our ongoing fleet modernization. Our record first quarter operating income of $242 million, excluding special items, was very strong, especially considering an estimated $50 million unfavorable impact from winter storms. Operationally, our Employees did an outstanding job in difficult conditions taking care of our Customers, and I thank them again for their efforts.
"Our first quarter 2014 earnings performance is a superb start to the year and on plan to achieve a 15 percent pre-tax return on invested capital for the year, excluding special items. Second quarter 2014, benefiting from the Easter and Passover holidays, also is off to a great start, with strong bookings, favorable revenue trends, and stable fuel prices.”