Mesa Air Group Reports Fourth Quarter and Full-Year Fiscal 2019 Results

PHOENIX, Dec. 11, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mesa Air Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: MESA) today reported fourth quarter and full-year fiscal 2019 financial and operating results.

Highlights

• Q4 EPS of $0.35 and Adjusted EPS¹ of $0.36
• Fiscal Year 2019 EPS of $1.36 and Adjusted EPS¹ of $1.64
• Extended our $35 million secured credit facility for three years
• Year over Year Increases:
  — Pre-tax income up 301% from $15.8 million to $63.3 million
  — Net income up 43% from $33.3 million to $47.6 million
  — Adjusted Pre-tax Income¹ up 78% from $43.0 million to $76.4 million
  — Adjusted EBITDA¹ up 27% from $164.8 million to $208.7 million
  — Adjusted EBITDAR¹ up  12% from $233.7 million to $260.9 million
  — Block hours up 11.0% due to increased utilization
  — Contract Revenue up 7% from $639.3 million to $682.8 million
  

Recent Update

• Signed CPA with United Airlines for 20 E175s, 12-year term, replacing 20 CRJ-700s to be leased
• Extended term on 42 E175s for an additional five years

Fourth Quarter

Mesa’s Q4 2019 results reflect net income of $12.2 million, or $0.35 per diluted share, compared to net income of $19.4 million, or $0.65 per diluted share for Q4 2018.  Mesa’s Q4 2019 pre-tax income was $17.1 million, compared to $26.6 million for Q4 2018.  In addition, Mesa’s Adjusted EBITDA¹ for Q4 2019 was $50.8 million, compared to $59.3 million in Q4 2018 and Adjusted EBITDAR¹ was $61.9 million, compared to $73.6 million in Q4 2018. Mesa operated 115,175 block hours during Q4 2019, an increase of 2.4% from Q4 2018 of 112,475. Operationally, the Company ran a 99.0% controllable completion factor, which was the same as Q4 2018, and a 96.9% total completion factor, which includes weather and other uncontrollable cancellations, compared to 97.6% in Q4 2018.

Full Year

Mesa reported net income of $47.6 million, or $1.36 per diluted share for the 2019 fiscal year, compared to net income of $33.3 million, or $1.32 per diluted share for the 2018 fiscal year.  Excluding special items for both periods adjusted net income¹ was $57.5 million or $1.64 per diluted share for the 2019 fiscal year compared to $30.4 million or $1.20 per diluted share for the 2018 fiscal year. Mesa’s fiscal year 2019 pre-tax income was $63.3 million, compared to $15.8 million for the 2018 fiscal year.  Excluding special items, adjusted pre-tax income¹ was $76.4 million for fiscal year 2019, compared to $43.0 million for the 2018 fiscal year. In addition, Mesa’s Adjusted EBITDA¹ was $208.7 million in fiscal year 2019, compared to $164.8 million in the 2018 fiscal year and Adjusted EBITDAR¹ was $260.9 million in fiscal year 2019, compared to $233.7 million in the 2018 fiscal year. Operationally, we ran a 99.4% controllable completion factor compared to 99.2% in 2018 and a 97.0% total completion factor, which includes weather and other uncontrollable cancellations, compared to 97.7% in 2018.

On December 3, 2019, the company announced it will be adding 20 new Embraer E175 LL aircraft to its United Express fleet. The aircraft will be owned and financed by Mesa and be covered under a 12-year capacity purchase agreement. Deliveries are scheduled to begin May 2020 and expected to be completed by the end of 2020. In addition to the new aircraft, the contract for 42 existing E175s, which are owned by United, has been extended an additional five years. The 18 Mesa-owned E175s are contracted through 2028. As part of the deal, Mesa will lease its 20 CRJ-700 aircraft to another United Express carrier.

“We made meaningful progress across the board this year, from pilot hiring and training to our maintenance resources,” said Jonathan Ornstein, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “After safety, performance remains our top priority for both our American Eagle and United Express operations in 2020. We continue to invest in staying ahead of the pilot and mechanic hiring curve which we believe, in addition to our industry leading cost structure, contributed to United awarding Mesa with a long term contract for 20 new E175s. We appreciate all of our employees and thank them for their professionalism and dedication each day.”

Mike Lotz, President and Chief Financial Officer, continued, “Year over year we have made significant improvement in earnings, primarily a result of double-digit block hour growth with effectively the same fleet count. During the year, we purchased and financed ten CRJ-700 aircraft previously leased reducing the number of leased aircraft from third parties to 18. We also extended our $35 million secured credit facility for three additional years at lower interest rates.” 

“Our employees delivered improved operating results this year compared to last year while flying 11 percent more block hours,” said Brad Rich, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. “Although we faced a number of operational challenges this year, some of which were out of our control, we see continued improvement across our American and United operations.  In light of our current performance, we expect the balance of 2020 to show further year over year operational improvement as a result of new initiatives. Since gaining access to additional spare aircraft in our American fleet, the November controllable completion factor was 99.7% and, through the first 10 days of December, we have not had a controllable cancel.”

______________________________

¹ See Reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures

Outlook

The Company is providing the following guidance for Fiscal Year 2020 and 2021:

EPS, Block Hours, Scheduled Heavy Engine and Airframe Maintenance, Pass-through Maintenance Expense – Actual and Forecast (unaudited)

Reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures

Although these financial statements are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. (“GAAP”), certain non-GAAP financial measures may provide investors with useful information regarding the underlying business trends and performance of Mesa’s ongoing operations and may be useful for period-over-period comparisons of such operations. The tables below reflect supplemental financial data and reconciliations to GAAP financial statements for the three and twelve months ended September 30, 2019 and the three and twelve months ended September 30, 2018. Readers should consider these non-GAAP measures in addition to, not a substitute for, financial reporting measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. These non-GAAP financial measures exclude some, but not all items that may affect the Company’s net income. Additionally, these calculations may not be comparable with similarly titled measures of other companies.

Reconciliation of GAAP versus Non-GAAP Disclosures (unaudited)
(In thousands, except for per diluted share)

Reconciliation of GAAP versus Non-GAAP Disclosures (unaudited)
(In thousands, except for per diluted share)

Adjustments:

1. Includes lease termination expense of $9.5 million related to the acquisition of ten CRJ-700 aircraft previously leased during the fiscal year ended September 30, 2019
2. Includes lease termination expense of $15.1 million related to the acquisition of nine CRJ-900 aircraft previously leased during the fiscal year ended September 30, 2018
3. Includes an adjustment of $11.1 million in General and Administrative expense related to an increase in accrued compensation as a result of the increase in the fair value of the Company’s common stock during the fiscal year ended September 30, 2018
4. Includes adjustment for loss on extinguishment of debt of $3.6 million related to repayment of the Company’s Spare Engine Facility during the fiscal year ended September 30, 2019
5. Includes adjustment for $1.0 million of financing fees written off during the fiscal year ended September 30, 2018
6. Includes adjustment for tax benefit resulting from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act enacted during Q1 2018.   The Act reduces the corporate tax rate to 21 percent, effective January 1, 2018
7. Includes adjustment for tax expense resulting from changes in various State income tax rates that were enacted throughout the year

Mesa Air Group will host a conference call with analysts on Wednesday, December 11 at 4:30pm EDT/2:30pm MST. The conference call number is 888-469-2054 (Passcode: Phoenix). The conference call can also be accessed live via the web by visiting https://edge.media-server.com/m6/p/ndxbvumn. A recorded version will be available on Mesa’s website approximately two hours after the call for approximately 14 days.

About Mesa Air Group, Inc.

Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, Mesa Air Group, Inc. is the holding company of Mesa Airlines, a regional air carrier providing scheduled passenger service to 147 cities in 47 states, the District of Columbia, Canada, Mexico, Cuba and the Bahamas. As of November 30th, 2019, Mesa operated a fleet of 145 aircraft with approximately 749 daily departures and 3,400 employees. Mesa operates all of its flights as either American Eagle or United Express flights pursuant to the terms of capacity purchase agreements entered into with American Airlines, Inc. and United Airlines, Inc.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward looking statements, including, but not limited to, (i) the fully diluted EPS forecast of Mesa for fiscal 2020 and fiscal 2021, (ii) the block hours, scheduled heavy engine and airframe maintenance, and pass-through maintenance expense forecast of Mesa for the four quarters of fiscal 2020, (iii) the fleet forecast for the four quarters of fiscal 2020 and year ended fiscal 2021, (iv) our ability to stay ahead of the pilot and mechanic hiring curve, and (v) continued improvement in operational performance for the balance of fiscal 2020 as a result of new initiatives. These forward-looking statements are based on Mesa’s current expectations and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Actual results may differ materially from these expectations due to changes in global, regional or local economic, business, competitive, market, regulatory and other factors, many of which are beyond Mesa’s control. Any forward-looking statement in this release speaks only as of the date of this release. Mesa undertakes no obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by any applicable securities laws.

MESA AIR GROUP, INC.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
(In thousands, except per share amounts) (Unaudited)

MESA AIR GROUP, INC.
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(In thousands, except shares) (Unaudited)

Operating Highlights (unaudited)

Source: Mesa Air Group, Inc.

Mesa Air Group, Inc.
Investor Relations
Brian Gillman
Investor.Relations@mesa-air.com
(602) 685-4010