Hawaiian Airlines loses $3.4M in 4th quarter; CEO cites excess capacity, weakened yen

HONOLULU, Hawaii - Hawaiian Airlines lost $3.4 million in the fourth quarter after recording nearly $12 million in interest expenses and nearly $9 million in losses on fuel derivatives, the Honolulu company said Tuesday.

The airline's parent, Hawaiian Holdings Inc., said revenue totalled nearly $493 million during the three months that ended Dec. 31.

The loss compared with a profit of $20.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Hawaiian CEO Mark Dunkerley said the results were disappointing after a year of growth and improving financial results.

"The sharp weakening of the yen, continued excess capacity in certain markets and an accounting charge all worked to depress our earnings for the period despite many other things going right for the business," Dunkerley said.

The loss amounted to 7 cents per share. The airline said it had adjusted net income of about $100,000, which was less than a penny per share.

Analysts polled by FactSet had expected revenue of $503 million and adjusted income of 11 cents per share.

Hawaiian posted a profit of $53.2 million for the full year. That compared with a loss of $2.6 million in 2011.

Shares of Hawaiian were unchanged at $6.54 in afterhours trading Tuesday after holding steady during the day. The stock has had a 52-week high of $7.30.

The airline launched four new routes from Honolulu in 2012, to Fukuoka and Sapporo in Japan, plus Brisbane, Australia and New York. It also announced daily service to Taiwan and Sydney, plus increased service between Maui and Los Angeles.

The airline recently announced a planned expansion with 16 new Airbus planes for routes between Hawaii and the U.S. West Coast.

"2013 promises to be an equally exciting year for the company with new destinations, new aircraft and more employees being planned," Dunkerley said.