Date: Thu, 20 Nov 1997 15:51:59 GMT Server: Stronghold/1.3.4 Ben-SSL/1.3 Apache/1.1.3 Content-type: text/html Content-length: 15713 Last-modified: Mon, 03 Nov 1997 01:15:46 GMT Mesaba Financial Report

Mesaba Holdings, Inc. Reports Forty-Nine Percent Increase in Second Quarter Net Income

Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN -- October 29, 1997 -- Mesaba Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAIR) today reported second quarter net income of $5.75 million for the three months ending September 30, 1997. The results represent a 48.9% increase over the previous year's second fiscal quarter net earnings of $3.86 million. Earnings per share for the quarter were $0.41 on 13.92 million shares outstanding, a 36.7% increase over the previous year's quarterly earnings per share of $0.30 on 12.96 million shares outstanding. Operating revenues for the quarter ending September 30, 1997 totaled $71.94 million, an increase of 54.1% over $46.68 million in the same period last year. Second quarter results include the operations of new service featuring the 69 passenger Avro RJ85 regional jets with five aircraft placed into revenue service as of September 30, 1997.

The airline reported an increase of 75.0% in Revenue Passenger Miles (RPMs) to 207.7 million for the second quarter compared to 118.7 million in the same period for the prior year. The airline carried 890,500 passengers for the quarter compared to 525,700 in the same period for the prior year, an increase of 69.4%. Capacity, as measured by Available Seat Miles (ASMs), increased 65.7% to 362.0 million for the quarter from 218.5 million in the same period last year. Passenger load factor climbed 3.1 points to 57.4% for the quarter compared to 54.3% for the prior year. "By any measure this was a terrific quarter for us," said Bryan Bedford, President and CEO of Mesaba Holdings, Inc. "But considering all the significant one-time challenges we overcame such as the regional jet introduction, Minneapolis expansion and our fast paced fleet transition, these results are even more gratifying. Our people truly deserve all the credit for our exceptional performance."

Mesaba Holdings, Inc., the parent company of Mesaba Airlines, operates as a Northwest Airlink affiliate under code-sharing agreements with Northwest Airlines. Currently, Mesaba serves 84 cities in 16 states and Canada from its two hubs at Minneapolis/St. Paul and Detroit Metro International Airports. The carrier operates a fleet of 70 turbo-prop and jet aircraft including the 30-34 passenger Saab 340, the 37 passenger deHavilland Dash-8 and the 69 passenger Avro RJ85. The company continues its turboprop fleet conversion to an all Saab 340 fleet on schedule and anticipates the introduction of the 12 Avro RJ85 aircraft to be completed by May 1998.


Financial Summary
(in Thousands, except per share data)
Quarter Ending September 30th
1997 1996 Change
Operating Revenue $71,942 $46,675 54.1%
Operating Income $9,155 $6,500 40.8%
Net Income $5,748 $3,860 48.9%
Net Income Per Share $0.41 $0.30 36.7%
Weighted Average Shares Outstanding 13,916 12,962 7.4%
Operating Margin 12.7% 13.9% (1.2 pts)
Net Margin 8.0% 7.3% (0.3 pts)





Operating Statistics
Quarter Ending September 30th
1997 1996 Change
Passangers 890,500 525,700 69.4%
ASMs (000) 361,957 218,472 65.7%
RPMs (000) 207,691 118,714 75.0%
Load Factor (%) 57.4% 54.3% 3.1 pts
RASM (a) $0.204 $0.212 (3.8%)
CASM (a) $0.180 $0.184 (2.2%)




Financial Summary
(in Thousands, except per share data)
For the Six Months Ending September 30th
1997 1996 Change
Operating Revenue $126,366 $89,096 41.8%
Operating Income $15,364 $11,569 32.8%
Net Income $9,721 $6,861 41.7%
Net Income Per Share $0.71 $0.53 34.0%
Weighted Average Shares Outstanding 13,611 12,970 4.9%
Operating Margin 12.2% 13.0% (0.8 pts)
Net Margin 7.7% 7.7% --





Operating Statistics
For the Six Months Ending September 30th
1997 1996 Change
Passangers 1,513,800 996,300 51.9%
ASMs (000) 625,808 413,490 51.3%
RPMs (000) 353,176 222,926 58.4%
Load Factor (%) 56.4% 53.9% 2.5 pts
RASM (a) $0.204 $0.213 (4.2%)
CASM (a) $0.181 $0.187 (3.2%)


(a) Turbo-prop operations only

RASM = Passenger Revenue per Available Seat Mile
CASM = Operating Cost per Available Seat Mile





Mesaba Holdings, Inc. is traded under the symbol MAIR on the NASDAQ National Market.

For More Information Please Contact:
Warren R. Wilkinson
Mesaba Airlines
612-725-4915









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  • More Financial Information:

    July 23, 1997
    Mesaba Holdings, Inc. Reports Forty-Nine Percent Increase in Second Quarter Net Income
    Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN -- July 23, 1997 -- Mesaba Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAIR) today reported first quarter net income of $3.97 million for the three months ending June 30, 1997. The results represent a 32.4% increase over the previous years first fiscal quarter net earnings of $3.00 million. Earnings per share for the quarter were $0.30 on 13.31 million shares outstanding, a 30.4% increase over the previous years quarterly earnings per share of $.23 on 12.98 million shares outstanding. Operating revenues for the quarter ending June 30, 1997 totaled $54.42 million, an increase of 28.3% over $42.42 million in the same period last year. First quarter results include the operations of new service featuring the 69 passenger Avro RJ85 regional jets with two aircraft placed into service on June 6, 1997.

    October 9, 1997
    Mesaba Airlines and Northwest Airlines Execute New Airlink Agreement
    Minneapolis/St. Paul -- October 9, 1997 -- Mesaba Airlines and its marketing partner, Northwest Airlines (Nasdaq: NWAC), announced today that they have executed a long-term contract which calls for Mesaba to continue operating as Northwest Airlink. The formal agreement incorporates the terms of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which was announced in June of this year. The ten year contract includes the consolidation of all Airlink flying out of Northwest's Minneapolis/St.Paul hub with Mesaba, which was effective August 1, 1997.

    July 23, 1997
    Mesaba Holdings, Inc. Reports Thirty-Two Percent Increase in First Quarter Operating Net Income
    Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN -- July 23, 1997 -- Mesaba Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAIR) today reported first quarter net income of $3.97 million for the three months ending June 30, 1997. The results represent a 32.4% increase over the previous years first fiscal quarter net earnings of $3.00 million. Earnings per share for the quarter were $0.30 on 13.31 million shares outstanding, a 30.4% increase over the previous years quarterly earnings per share of $.23 on 12.98 million shares outstanding. Operating revenues for the quarter ending June 30, 1997 totaled $54.42 million, an increase of 28.3% over $42.42 million in the same period last year. First quarter results include the operations of new service featuring the 69 passenger Avro RJ85 regional jets with two aircraft placed into service on June 6, 1997.

    May 29, 1997
    MESABA HOLDINGS, INC. REPORTS 72% INCREASE IN FISCAL YEAR 1997 EARNINGS
    Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN -- May 29, 1997 -- Mesaba Holdings, Inc. today reported that its consolidated net earnings for the fiscal year ending March 31, 1997 rose to $12.0 million, a 71.9% increase from the previous years results of $7.0 million. Earnings per share for the year were $0.93, a 55.0% increase over the previous years earnings per share of $0.60. Weighted average shares outstanding increased 10.1% to 12.9 million from 11.7 million. For the year, consolidated operating revenues increased 8.9% to $185.7 million compared to $170.5 million reported during the previous fiscal year. The prior years revenue figures includes the results from Airtran Airways prior to it's spin-off from the company in September 1995.

    January 22, 1997
    Mesaba Holdings, Inc. Reports Eighty-Two Percent Increase in Third Quarter Net Income
    Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN -- January 22, 1997 -- Mesaba Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAIR) today reported third quarter net income of $3.0 million for the three months ending December 31, 1996.

    October 24, 1996
    Mesaba Holdings, Inc. Reports Fifty-One Percent Increase in Second Quarter Net Income
    Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN -- October 24, 1996 -- Mesaba Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAIR) today reported second quarter net income of $3.9 million for the three months ending September 30, 1996.

    July 23, 1996
    Mesaba Holdings, Inc. Reports Record First Quarter Earnings
    Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN-- July 23, 1996--Mesaba Holdings, Inc. today reported net income of $3.0 million for the three months ending June 30, 1996, the highest first quarter net earnings in the Company's history.

    May 28, 1996
    Mesaba Holdings, Inc. Reports Fiscal Year 1996 Earnings
    Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN -- May 28, 1996 -- Mesaba Holdings, Inc. today reported that its consolidated operating revenues for Fiscal Year 1996 ending March 31st rose 16.9% to $170.5 million compared to 145.9 million reported during the previous fiscal year.

    January 25, 1996
    Mesaba Holdings Report Improved 3rd Quarter Earnings
    Minneapolis, MN -- January 25, 1996 -- Mesaba Holdings, Inc. today reported earnings of $1,641,000 or $0.13 per share for its third fiscal quarter ending December 31, 1995. A year earlier, the Company posted a loss for the quarter of $0.01 per share.





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