Hawaiian Airlines Reports Third Quarter, Year-To-Date Profits

HONOLULU, November 4, 1996 -- Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. (ASE and PSE: HA) today reported an operating profit of $4.6 million on an 8.4 percent increase in operating revenues for the third quarter ended September 30, 1996, compared to $4.4 million in the year-ago third quarter. The recent period was the company's sixth consecutive quarter of operating profitability. Year-to-date, the company's operating profit totaled $8.1 million, versus an operating loss of $2.6 million in the first nine months of 1995.

Net income for the 1996 third quarter of $1.4 million reflects a non-cash charge of $2.4 million for income taxes recorded during the period. A majority of the tax provision will not require a current or future cash outlay as it will be offset by net operating loss (NOL) carryforwards available to the company. Net income in the 1995 third quarter was $3.4 million.

Per share results for the 1996 third quarter and nine months reflect 18.2 million additional shares issued in connection with the January 31, 1996 investment in the company by Airline Investors Partnership, L.P. (AIP) and, to a lesser degree, 12.1 million additional shares issued as part of the company's rights and investor offerings completed in September. Net income per share for the 1996 third quarter was $0.05 on 30.3 million weighted average fully diluted shares outstanding, including the non-cash charge, compared to $0.33 per share in the year-ago period on 10.1 million weighted average fully diluted shares. Nine-month net income per share was $0.08 on 27.4 million shares in 1996 versus a loss per share of $0.57 in 1995 on 9.4 million shares.

Operating revenues increased 8.4 percent to $101.2 million in the 1996 third quarter, boosted by a 7.8 percent increase in systemwide passenger yield. Nine-month operating revenues for 1996 were $291.3 million, compared to $254.3 million a year ago, an increase of 14.5 percent. Hawaiian Airlines reported EBITDA of $6.6 million versus $6.4 million in the 1996 and 1995 third quarters, respectively, and $14.2 million compared to $3.2 million in the 1996 and 1995 year-to-date periods, respectively.

Higher revenues and increased yield in the recent period were offset by an 8.7 percent increase in operating expenses. Nearly two-thirds of the increase in expenses was associated with a 33.5 percent rise in fuel costs versus the 1995 period. The higher fuel costs resulted from a combination of a higher industrywide fuel pricing environment, added fuel tax expense and increased flight operations.

Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. President and Chief Executive Officer Bruce R. Nobles commented, "Third quarter and year-to-date results were a further indication of Hawaiian's solidifying profitability, and were achieved despite the impact of unfavorable fuel prices during the third quarter. With strengthening operations and an excellent financial position following our recent successful rights and investor offerings, Hawaiian is positioned to capitalize on its market opportunities. Our improvement has and will continue to hinge on the concerted team effort of our employees to increase both the efficiency of our operations and the quality of our product."

For the first nine months of 1996, Hawaiian carried 3.9 million revenue passengers systemwide, an increase of 6.8 percent from 3.7 million during the same period in 1995. Systemwide revenue passenger miles increased 10.5 percent to 2.9 billion from the year-ago period, while available seat miles rose 11.9 percent to 3.8 billion. Average systemwide load factor decreased one percentage point to 76.0 percent.

Hawaiian Airlines, Hawaii's first and largest airline, provides scheduled and charter air transportation of passengers, cargo and mail among the islands of Hawaii and between Hawaii and five West Coast gateway cities and two destinations in the South Pacific. The carrier was recently rated among the top 10 U.S. airlines by readers of Conde Nast Traveler magazine and among the top five by readers of Travel & Leisure magazine.