Revenue of $294 million, Sun Country’s highest on record
Sun Country Airlines this week reported financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2023.
“Sun Country’s unique, diversified business model continues to deliver strong results,” said Jude Bricker, Chief Executive Officer of Sun Country. “The revenue environment remains resilient, as we saw a 20.8% increase in total average fare and a gain of 8.6 percentage points in load factor in the first quarter versus 2022. This demand strength helped deliver a first quarter GAAP operating income margin of 19.0% and an adjusted operating income margin of 19.9%(2), easily exceeding the first quarter of last year by over 9 percentage points. We delivered these outstanding results despite a winter season at our Minneapolis-St. Paul base that was the third snowiest on record. I want to thank our dedicated team of employees for their extraordinary efforts this winter.”
For the quarter ended March 31, 2023, Sun Country reported net income of $38 million and income before income tax of $50 million, on $294 million of revenue. Adjusted income before income tax for the quarter was $53 million(2). GAAP operating income during the quarter was $56 million, while adjusted operating income was $58 million(2).
“We continue to see strength across our scheduled service, charter and cargo businesses,” said Dave Davis, President and Chief Financial Officer. “Total revenue was up nearly 30% year-over-year, with Scheduled Service TRASM(3) up 34.7% and TRASM(4), including charter revenue, up 30.6% versus the first quarter of 2022. GAAP operating income increased 155% while adjusted operating income was up 157% year-over-year, generating a GAAP operating margin of 19.0% and an adjusted operating income margin of nearly 20% in our seasonally strongest quarter. During the first quarter, our unit costs were negatively impacted by decreased aircraft utilization levels. In the second quarter, we expect total block hour growth of at least 11% versus last year, and pressure on non-fuel CASM should ease during the year. We are also excited to have acquired five 737-900ER aircraft which are currently on lease to Oman Air. We will obtain the lease revenue from Oman Air until the expiration of the leases and the aircraft are delivered to us beginning in late 2024 and continuing through 2025. The 737-900ER is a new fleet variant for Sun Country and we expect it to create new opportunities for our network.”
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