Spirit Airlines reports fourth-quarter net loss of US$183.7 million

For the fourth quarter 2023, Spirit Airlines (Spirit) reported a net loss of US$183.7 million, excluding special items, adjusted net loss for the fourth quarter 2023 was US$148.7 million. For the fourth quarter 2023, Spirit reported a pre-tax loss of US$228.3 million and a pre-tax margin of negative 17.3%. Adjusted pre-tax loss for the fourth quarter was US$192.2 million and adjusted pre-tax margin was negative 14.5%.

Total operating revenues for the fourth quarter 2023 were US$1.3 billion, a decrease of 5.0% compared to the fourth quarter 2022. Total revenue per ASM (TRASM) was 8.94 cents, a decrease of 17.3% compared to fourth quarter 2022 on 14.8% more capacity. On a per passenger flight segment basis, compared to the same period in 2022, total revenue per passenger flight segment for the fourth quarter 2023 decreased 15.3% to US$114.84. Compared to the fourth quarter 2022, fare revenue per segment decreased 25.0% to US$48.24 and non-ticket revenue per segment decreased 6.6% to US$66.603.

Spirit ended the fourth quarter 2023 with unrestricted cash and cash equivalents, short-term investment securities and liquidity available under the company’s revolving credit facility of US$1.3 billion. In November 2023, Spirit modified its revolving credit facility to, among other things, extend the final maturity to September 30, 2025.
In December 2023, the company completed sale-lease-back transactions for 20 aircraft, resulting in repayment of approximately US$325 million of indebtedness on those aircraft and net cash proceeds of approximately US$320 million. In January 2024, Spirit completed sale-lease-back transactions for an additional five aircraft, resulting in repayment of approximately US$140 million of indebtedness on those aircraft and net cash proceeds of approximately US$99 million. In total, these transactions resulted in net cash proceeds to the company of approximately US$419 million. (£1.00 = US$1.26 at time of publication).