Virgin America has posted fourth quarter 2014 operating income of $34.2 million and net income of $28.1 million, excluding special items. This represents the highest net income for a fourth quarter in the company’s history and the ninth consecutive quarter of year-over-year improvement in income, excluding special items. On a GAAP basis, operating and net income for the fourth quarter of 2014 and 2013 were $10.1 million and $3.9 million, respectively.
The airline’s 2014 full year net income was $84.4 million, excluding special items. Full year net income increased by $74.2 million over 2013 – a seven-fold increase, the highest in the company’s history. Operating and net income on a GAAP basis for the full year 2014 were $96.4 million and $60.1 million, respectively.
2014 full year RASM increased 4.6 percent compared to 2013, to 12.17 cents.
Virgin America successfully completed its initial public offering (IPO) in November 2014, increasing cash by $214.4 million and significantly reducing outstanding debt. The airline won the Airline Economics Aviation 100 Equity Deal of the Year for its IPO.
Virgin America ended the year with $394.6 million in total unrestricted cash and cash equivalents.
“2014 was a remarkable year for Virgin America on every front,” said David Cush, Virgin America’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “We achieved record profitability and significantly strengthened our balance sheet by going public in the second largest airline IPO in history. Both our existing and new investors have shown confidence in our low-cost, high-amenity business model – and we’ve continued to sweep the major travel awards for both operational excellence and our innovative service. Importantly, we’ve also continued to exceed the industry average in Revenue per Available Seat Mile (RASM) growth and also shown a significant RASM premium on some of the nation’s most competitive business routes. Our 2014 results are a credit to both our guest-focused Teammates and a consistent, award-winning product.”