Net Income: SkyWest reported a net income of $60 million for Q1 2024.
Earnings per Share (EPS): The reported EPS was $1.45 per diluted share.
Revenue: Total revenue for Q1 2024 stood at $804 million, marking a 7% increase sequentially from Q4 2023 ($752 million) and a 16% increase from Q1 2023 ($692 million).
Contract Revenue: Saw a 10% increase from Q4 and a 15% increase from Q1 2023.
Prorate and Charter Revenue: Reported at $101 million in Q1, a 9% decrease from Q4 due to seasonality but up 31% from Q1 2023.
Leasing and Other Revenue: Experienced a $2 million sequential increase and a $3 million decrease year-over-year.
Deferred Revenue: Included the effect of recognizing $1 million of previously deferred revenue this quarter.
Future Guidance
Block Hours Growth: Anticipated to be up 7% to 9% over 2023.
Income Tax Rate: Expected to range between 25% and 27% for 2024.
GAAP EPS: Projected to be in the high $6 area for 2024, reflecting stronger production outlook.
Capital Expenditures (CapEx): Expected to be approximately $275 million to $325 million, including the purchase of 5 new E175s in 2024.
Debt Repayment: SkyWest aims to repay over $400 million in debt in 2024.
Share Repurchase: Plan to continue repurchasing shares, albeit at a significantly slower cadence than in 2023.
Trends, Market Conditions, Sentiment
Demand: Ongoing strong demand for SkyWest’s production from partners.
Pilot Availability: Seeing improvements, with ongoing efforts to restore full crew balance and production.
Fleet Utilization: The company aims for near full utilization on the E175 fleet by year-end, with significant growth opportunities for the CRJ fleet.
Market Share: Increased market share in the regional dual-class aircraft sector, intending to solidify SkyWest’s position as the world’s largest Embraer operator by the end of 2026.
Financial Strength: SkyWest’s balance sheet and liquidity position are highlighted as key drivers for future growth and shareholder value.
Notable Quotes
”Our strong free cash flow also benefits from a lower investment in CapEx than in prior years.” – Robert Simmons
”The demand for those 3 is exceptionally strong…it’s just a matter of getting the attrition continuing to improve to capture that demand in the future.” – Russell A. Childs
”We’re very optimistic about what we have coming up through the pipeline to be able to fill the demand for both fleet types.” – Russell A. Childs
”We look forward to working with our partners to continue to fly those and operate those for a very long time.” – Wade Steel
”Our balanced capital deployment included repaying over $400 million of debt…We are on track in 2024 to repay a similar number.” – Robert Simmons
