Mesa Air Group (NASDAQ: MESA) reported Q4 EPS of $0.36, in-line with the analyst estimate of $0.36. Revenue for the quarter came in at $187.83 million versus the consensus estimate of $178.49 million.

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

“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.”

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