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CONTINENTAL AIRLINES REPORTS FOURTH QUARTER AND FULL YEAR LOSS
Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) today reported a fourth quarter net loss of $149 million ($2.58 diluted loss per share). The fourth quarter results include a grant of $174 million ($110 million after tax) pursuant to the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act and $61 million ($39 million after tax) of fleet impairment and other charges. Excluding the grant and special items, Continental would have reported a fourth quarter net loss of $220 million ($3.81 diluted loss per share) that compares favorably to the First Call estimate of $4.49 loss per share. Continental’s net loss for the full year was $95 million ($1.72 diluted loss per share), including the Stabilization Act grant of $417 million ($263 million after tax) and special charges totaling $146 million ($92 million after tax). Excluding the grant and special items, the pre-tax loss for the year would have been $385 million and the net loss for the year would have been $266 million ($4.79 diluted loss per share). “Our employees have once again demonstrated that adversity often brings out the best in each of us,” said Gordon Bethune, Continental Airlines’ chairman and chief executive officer. “Their strength and professionalism have sparked our steady recovery and will ensure our long term success. "We owe the Administration and Congress our sincere appreciation for their timely assistance,” Bethune added. “The airline industry as a whole would not have survived without their help.” Fourth quarter passenger revenue was $1.6 billion, down 28.4 percent from the same period last year. Capacity declined 14.9 percent while revenue passenger miles declined 16.8 percent, resulting in a year-over-year decrease in fourth quarter load factor of 1.5 points to 70.1 percent. Period to period comparisons of passenger revenue, revenue per available seat mile (RASM) and available seat miles (ASMs) by geographic region are shown below: Increase (Decrease) in Fourth Quarter 2001 vs. Fourth Quarter 2000 Results
Passenger Revenue
RASM
ASMs
Domestic (30.8)%
(19.3)%
(14.2)%
Latin America
(20.5)%
(6.3)%
(15.2)%
Transatlantic
(34.4)%
(17.8)% (20.2)% Pacific (33.7)% (27.8)% (8.2)% Total Jet Operations (30.3)% (18.1)% (14.9)% While RASM remains weak, it continues to improve from the lows following Sept. 11, declining 18.1 percent in the fourth quarter year-over-year. ExpressJet Airlines, a wholly owned subsidiary of Continental Airlines doing business as Continental Express, grew its capacity by 5.4 percent during the quarter as compared to the fourth quarter of 2000. Revenue passenger miles generated on Continental Express were up 7.3 percent, resulting in a 1.1 point year-over-year increase in load factor to 62.7 percent for the fourth quarter. Last summer, Continental filed with the SEC for an initial public offering of Continental Express, but decided to postpone the offering after Sept. 11 to allow the financial markets to stabilize and permit the airline industry to begin its recovery from the events of Sept. 11. While the structure and terms of the offering will be revised and its timing remains uncertain, Continental intends to continue pursuing its strategy of separating the ownership of Continental and Continental Express. Fourth Quarter Operational Performance Throughout the year, Continental continued to lead the major carriers in on-time performance and reliability, with fourth quarter operating results among the best in the industry. The carrier’s on-time arrival rate for the fourth quarter was 85.8 percent and the completion factor was 99.6 percent. For 2001, Continental’s on-time arrival rate, which counts cancelled flights as delayed, was 80.7 percent and its completion factor was 97.6 percent. Excluding cancellations due to the events of Sept. 11 and subsequent schedule reductions, the 2001 on-time arrival rate was 82.2 percent and the completion factor was 99.2 percent. Unlike other carriers, Continental maintained meal service and other amenities on its flights, such as inflight entertainment, blankets, pillows and magazines. Also, the airline continued to operate all of its President Clubs and off-airport ticketing facilities after Sept. 11. “During the fourth quarter, we continued to distance ourselves from the competition by maintaining a high quality product and superior customer service,” said Larry Kellner, president of Continental Airlines. “Our positive trends in passenger traffic and revenue reflect the market’s endorsement of our strategy.” In response to more stringent security screening, Continental was well ahead of the competition in expediting the check-in process by significantly increasing the number of security checkpoints at all three of its domestic hubs, and by augmenting its security force by recalling employees. In addition, the carrier increased its extensive network of automated check-in kiosks to 607 eService Centers in 92 airports throughout the United States. In December, Continental recorded its highest volume of customer check-ins through its eService Centers since implementing the service in 1995. Continental also announced a code share agreement with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines that will benefit both carriers’ frequent flyers. In December, Continental Airlines opened its all-new concourse at Newark International Airport as the crown jewel of $1.4 billion in improvements to the New York area’s premier airport and only airline hub. The opening of the new concourse followed the recent inauguration of direct train service that enables customers to travel between mid-town Manhattan and Newark airport in approximately 20 traffic-free minutes for about one-fourth of the average cab fare. Fourth Quarter Financial Results Continental’s cost per available seat mile (CASM) in the fourth quarter, excluding the Stabilization Act grant and special charges, was 0.3 percent lower (4.4 percent higher holding fuel rate constant) over the same period last year. For the full year 2001, CASM, excluding the grant and special items, and holding fuel rate constant, was flat year-over-year as the company maintained its focus on successfully managing costs. "In a business where the winners and losers are decided by the smallest of margins, our industry leading operational performance has again resulted in excellent cost control despite the large capacity reductions resulting from the events of Sept. 11," said Jeff Misner, Continental’s senior vice president and chief financial officer. During the quarter the company sold 7,751,000 shares of Class B common stock, which includes the underwriter’s full exercise of its overallotment option, at a price of $22.50 per share. Net proceeds to the company totaled $172 million. Continental and its subsidiaries also received $354 million in cash under the Stabilization Act during 2001, and anticipate receiving approximately $63 million more in the first quarter of 2002. The company ended the quarter with $1.13 billion in cash and short-term investments, making this the sixth straight year Continental has exceeded its $1 billion cash balance target. During the fourth quarter, the company took delivery of its first two Boeing 757-300 aircraft, a stretched version of the 757-200 with 27 more seats and nearly 40 percent more available cargo volume. As Continental moves toward operating three mainline fleet types -- 777, 767/757 and the 737 -- the airline increases its efficiency with reduced fuel consumption, flexibility in scheduling, efficiency in training and spare parts inventory commonality. The airline obtained financing for these aircraft, along with other aircraft delivered to Continental since Sept. 11, earlier in 2001. Continental is in discussions with Boeing concerning the deferral of some of its firm order aircraft, which are scheduled to be delivered between 2002 and 2005. ExpressJet took delivery of 11 Embraer regional jets in the fourth quarter. As previously announced, Continental recorded $39 million ($61 million before tax) of special charges in the fourth quarter associated primarily with the impairment of various owned aircraft and spare engines.
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