Contract carrier SkyWest says 4th-qtr profit fell 8 pct to $19.5M as sales slid 18 pct

SkyWest 4Q profit falls as sales tumble

ST. GEORGE, Utah — SkyWest Inc., operator of SkyWest Airlines and Atlantic Southeast Airlines, reported Thursday that its fourth-quarter profit fell 8 percent to $19.5 million as its sales slid more than 18 percent.

The airline industry has been hit hard by weak demand for air travel and by fuel prices climbing back up. Demand has picked up in recent months, but a full rebound is a ways off.

As a contract carrier, SkyWest is reimbursed by its major partners for fuel and certain other costs under its flying arrangements. Its subsidiary SkyWest Airlines is based in St. George, Utah, and its ASA subsidiary is based in Atlanta.

SkyWest’s profit for the three-month period that ended Dec. 31 amounted to 34 cents per share, compared with a profit of $21.2 million, or 37 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier.

Revenue in the quarter fell to $604.4 million from $743.3 million a year earlier.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, who generally exclude one-time items from their estimates, were on average expecting earnings of 41 cents a share on revenue of $608.1 million.

Full-year profit came to $83.7 million, or $1.47 per share, compared with a profit of $112.9 million, or $1.93 per share, in 2008. Twelve-month revenue came to $2.61 billion, compared to $3.50 billion in 2008.

SkyWest Airlines operates as United Express and Delta Connection carriers under contractual agreements with United and Delta. SkyWest Airlines also operates flights for AirTran under a marketing agreement.

ASA operates as a Delta Connection carrier under a contractual agreement with Delta. ASA was scheduled to begin service as a United Express carrier on Thursday.