New York: JetBlue Airways Corp. said on Thursday its fourth-quarter pretax loss grew on a hefty charge related to the value of some soured investments.
The Forest Hills, New York-based carrier on Thursday reported a pretax loss of $49 million, compared with a pretax loss of $3 million a year earlier. The 2008 period includes a charge of $53 million on the value of auction-rate securities, which rapidly lost value as the credit crisis spread.
JetBlue had about $258 million in auction-rate securities at the end of the quarter.
Excluding the charge, the airline said it would have reported pretax income of $4 million, compared with a pretax loss of $3 million in the 2007 fourth-quarter.
JetBlue said it is evaluating the tax position of a special charge and will not report net income for the fourth-quarter until mid-February, when it plans to file its annual report with the Securities and Exchange Commission on form 10-K.
Operating revenue rose 10 per cent to $811 million.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected revenue of $807.8 million.
For the full year, JetBlue reported a pretax loss of $76 million, compared with pretax income of $41 million a year earlier. Without the debt writedown in 2008, the company would have reported a pretax loss of $23 million.
"While we are disappointed to report a loss, I am very proud of what JetBlue accomplished in 2008," Chief Executive Dave Barger said in a statement. "Against the backdrop of record fuel prices and unprecedented economic challenges, we effectively managed our capacity and strengthened our network."
In the current quarter, JetBlue expects its cost per available seat mile to rise between 11 and 13 per cent over the first quarter of 2008. Capacity in the period is expected to fall by 5 and 7 per cent.
The carrier expects its unit costs for the full year to decline by 5 to 7 per cent, while capacity is expected to stay flat to two per cent lower than 2008.
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