SEATTLE (AP) -- Alaska Air Group Inc., the parent company of Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, reported a second-quarter profit Thursday, due to a rise in passenger traffic and ticket prices.
For the three months ended June 30, the company posted net earnings of $17.4 million, or 56 cents a share, versus a net loss of $1.7 million or 6 cents a share for the same period a year ago.
Revenue rose to $697.5 million from $637.9 million a year ago.
The airline's second-quarter earnings included a $14.7 million restructuring charge before taxes for severance pay and other costs stemming mostly from the outsourcing of baggage handling and other ramp work at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to a subcontractor.
Excluding this and other one-time items, net income would have been $24.7 million, or 74 cents a share, for the latest quarter.
On average, analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial were looking for earnings of 68 cents a share. Estimates varied widely, from 40 cents a share to 92 cents a share.
Alaska Air shares fell 55 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $33.67 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $18.74 to $34.47.
