Spirit Airlines Reports Third Quarter Adjusted Net Income of $25.2 million And Delivers on the Promise of Low Fares at $71.85 per Flight Segment Average

MIRAMAR, FLORIDA (October 31, 2012) – Spirit Airlines, Inc. (NASDAQ: SAVE) today reported third quarter 2012 financial results.

Net income, excluding special items, for the third quarter 2012 was $25.2 million, or $0.35 per diluted share1. GAAP net income for the third quarter 2012 was $30.9 million, or $0.43 per diluted share.

Operating margin, excluding special items, for the third quarter of 2012 was 11.8 percent1. Operating margin on a GAAP basis was 14.5 percent for the third quarter of 2012.

Adjusted EBITDAR for the third quarter 2012 was $81.8 million, resulting in an Adjusted EBITDAR margin of 23.9 percent.
Spirit ended the third quarter 2012 with $399.1 million in unrestricted cash.

“As we grow our network, we are pleased to continue to offer our customers the lowest fares in our markets. Giving our customers the freedom to choose only the services and products they value allows them to save money and helps us keep our costs low which, in turn, provides value to our shareholders,” said Ben Baldanza, Spirit’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “While this quarter reflected previously described difficult revenue comparisons as we lapped the benefit from the Federal Excise Tax holiday last year, we remain on target to achieve our goal of growing capacity 15 to 20 percent while sustaining an annualized EBITDAR margin of 24 to 26 percent for the full year 2012.”

Revenue Performance
For the third quarter 2012, Spirit’s total operating revenue was $342.3 million, an increase of $53.6 million, or 18.6 percent, compared to third quarter 2011 on a capacity increase of 22.7 percent.

Total revenue per available seat mile (“RASM”) for the third quarter 2012 was 11.52 cents, a decrease of 3.4 percent compared to the third quarter 2011, driven by lower load factor and operating yields against very strong results last year.

Passenger flight segment (“PFS”) volume grew 23.2 percent year-over-year in the third quarter 2012 with total revenue per PFS of $121.65. Average non-ticket revenue per PFS for the third quarter 2012 increased 11.5 percent year-over-year to $49.80 while average ticket revenue per PFS for the quarter decreased 12.1 percent year-over-year to $71.85 as Spirit continued its strategy to offer low base fares while increasing revenue from non-ticket sources. In addition, ticket revenue per passenger segment in the third quarter 2011 included the benefit from the Federal Excise Tax holiday.

Cost Performance
Total operating expenses in the third quarter 2012 were $292.6 million, an increase of $48.5 million, or 19.9 percent, compared to the same period in 2011, primarily driven by fuel and other expenses associated with increased flight volume, partially offset by a gain associated with the sale of four air carrier slots at Ronald Reagan National Airport. Other expense drivers included passenger re-accommodation costs related to flight cancellations and crew-related costs as a result of network scope changes.

Cost per available seat mile excluding special items and fuel (“Adjusted CASM ex-fuel”) for the third quarter 2012 was 6.02 cents, an increase of 4.9 percent year-over-year, largely driven by higher passenger re-accommodation costs related to flight cancellations. Other primary drivers included additional rent for an aircraft temporarily leased from a third-party provider to maintain desired capacity levels during the summer, start-up costs associated with the Company’s seat maintenance program and implementation costs of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system.

During the third quarter 2012, the Company incurred start-up costs related to its seat maintenance program of $2.3 million, bringing its total costs incurred related to this program to $5.4 million. Spirit estimates that total start-up costs related to this program will be approximately $7 million with the remaining balance incurred in the fourth quarter 2012.

Selected Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Items
At the end of the third quarter 2012, Spirit had $399.1 million in unrestricted cash and cash equivalents and no restricted cash balance. As of September 30, 2012, the Company had no debt on its balance sheet and total shareholders’ equity of $559.5 million.

During the third quarter 2012, the Company had capital expenditures of $2.5 million, paid $11.5 million in pre-delivery deposits (“PDPs”) for future deliveries of aircraft and spare engines and paid $13.0 million in maintenance reserves, net of reimbursements.

Fleet
Spirit ended the third quarter 2012 with 42 aircraft in its fleet. The Company has two new A320 aircraft scheduled for delivery in the fourth quarter 2012, which deliveries would bring the year-end 2012 fleet to 44 aircraft. In addition, in October 2012, Spirit signed a Letter of Intent with ILFC to lease three used A319 and five A320neo aircraft, subject to final documentation. These aircraft are undergoing customary maintenance checks, and the Company currently expects one A319 aircraft to be delivered in December 2012 with two expected to be delivered in January 2013. Delivery dates for the A320neo aircraft will be confirmed after Spirit has made a decision on its engine type selection for the A320neo.