Skywest Airlines Share Discussion Threads

[standish11] 08/4/2009 17:49

March operating stats now out.Capacity down 13.5% but load factor improved which stops the rot!

[tsmith2] 03/4/2009 13:30

2 directors buying - explains the rise.

[tsmith2] 03/4/2009 08:47

little or no volume but shares trading higher each day, should have operating stats out soon.

anyone know when the results are likely to be..

[berny3] 01/4/2009 13:55

nice little tick up. any thoughts?

mine were that theer was concern whther there was sufficient cash to pay declared dividend, which there clearly was.

[tsmith2] 01/4/2009 12:28

up 30%..intresting.

[themoneymonster2] 01/4/2009 11:50

No trades and up over 20%??? Must be good news coming??

[themoneymonster2] 31/3/2009 10:26

Trades are not being reported for some reason?

EPS said to be around 2.35p so you can buy at 3.3p putting them on a p/e of 1.5 but offering a 0.49p yield = 14.5%!!

The de-rating has reached it's bottom, double your money at least from here.

Net asset value around 10p!

[futre] 11/2/2009 13:12

Is anybody bothering with this share any more ?

Charts all out of date...

Nothing happening....

[berny3] 03/12/2008 07:49

Interesting possibilities if Britsh Airways moves in to merge with Quantis. May raise the profily of Skywest as the airlines ability to generate profit even in these hard times must be attractive

[stluke] 18/11/2008 11:47

Thanks Anna for the very detailed report, im sure it will make interesting reading.

[anna faelten] 18/11/2008 11:29

Hi All, new BECR note out on SKYW

[quote] Skywest Airlines*: Buy at 8.5p – Target Price 20.7p


Key Data

EPIC
SKYW

Share Price
8.5p

Spread
8p – 9p

Total no of shares
199,500,000

Market Cap
£16.96 million

12 Month Range
8.5p – 18p

Net Cash
£2.39 million

Market
AIM

Website
www.skywest.com.sg

Sector
Travel & Leisure

Contact
Jeff Chatfield (Chairman)
07783 942 553

On 13th November Skywest Airlines Ltd, the AIM listed Australian and South East Asia regional airline operator, announced its results for the year ended 30th June 2008 revealing the greatest ever profits and revenues in the airline's 45 year history. Although the company noted that "shareholders must anticipate a slow down in the rate of growth due to the global crisis of confidence in the broader economy associated with the credit institutions", it is still anticipated to grow robustly this year and coupled with strong balance sheet support, including net cash of £2.4 million, and what should be a robust 5.8% dividend yield, the shares look significantly undervalued on a prospective price earnings multiple of 4.1.

Skywest flies various routes within Western Australia – a number of which are operated under an exclusive State Government licence – as well as servicing the Northern Territory and Bali, Indonesia. The company enjoys a near monopoly on its commercial routes and has added security of earnings from booming long term charter agreements with mining companies. It continues to enjoy increasing regular passenger numbers, but it is in the supply of scheduled charter services for resource sector clients that the company has recently enjoyed its most dramatic growth. The most recent evidence of this came on 2nd July 2008 when Skywest announced a contract with Rio Tinto which it believes to be the largest single air services contract in the Australian markets for services of this type.

Skywest's exclusive operating licence, which represents approximately 50% of its passenger numbers, together with the dynamics of its operating environment clearly differentiates the company from other UK quoted airline operators. In particular, it is able to pass fuel price changes onto customers which it does via a transparent rise and fall mechanism on a monthly basis. As well as including this provision, Skywest's charter contracts are typically with major companies and for multi-year terms which provides a level of earnings visibility conventional airline operators cannot come close to matching.

There is risk from the company's present and potential customers suffering from the deteriorating global economic climate, a tightening availability of credit and recent commodity price declines, as well as an initial three year term on the company's exclusive operating licence ending on 31st December 2008 and the Government of Western Australia currently undertaking a review of intrastate air services to determine the post 2008 regime. However, it should be noted that Skywest's current charter contracts are multi-year deals with major companies, that the market for these services remain significant despite the global downturn and that a multitude of factors suggest the company will have a central role in a post 2008 airline structure.

Therefore, we believe that fears about the short-term threats Skywest faces look over-discounted in the current share price and, together with a long-term view that commodity prices in general will trade at much high levels than those currently prevailing, we regard a price earnings multiple of 10 as far from demanding for these shares. This suggests a target price of 20.7p, but even at this level the shares would trade on a PEG of 0.73 and offer a yield – even on an unchanged dividend payout - of 2.4%, with this far from dismissible given the interest rate outlook. As such with the shares at 8.5p our stance is buy.









Forecast Table

Year to 30th June
Sales (S$ million)
Pre-tax Profit (S$ million)
Earnings Per Share (p)
Price Earnings Ratio
Dividend Per Share (p)
Dividend Yield (%)

2007A
130.49
12.70
1.26
6.7
0.73
8.6

2008A
184.20
14.48
1.82
4.7
0.49
5.8

2009E
210.00
16.50
2.07
4.1
0.49
5.8



Background


AIM investors were first able to gain an exposure to Skywest Airlines when shares in Advent Air Ltd commenced trading on the market on 30th November 2005. At that time Skywest was a 62% owned subsidiary of Advent Air, with its shares quoted on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). On 12th October 2006 Advent completed the acquisition of the residual shares in Skywest and with the airline thus becoming a wholly owned subsidiary it was de-listed from the ASX. To reflect the mop-up takeover and the group's source of income, Advent Air changed its name to Skywest Airlines Ltd with effect from 20th November 2007.

Skywest has been operating since 1963 and its brand name has become well established and regarded in Western and Northern Australia. Its core businesses are the provision of passenger airline flights within Western Australia and the Northern Territory, including a number of tourist coastal destinations, as well as Bali, Indonesia and the provision of scheduled charter services to resource companies.

As a result of Western Australia Government policy, a number of coastal airline routes in the State are operated under exclusive licence and subject to periodic re-tendering. Skywest's standing in the region has enabled it to successfully tender for these routes, with the most recent tender win for a term of three years from 1st January 2006, with a further two year extension grantable at the Minister for Planning and Infrastructure's discretion, based on performance and adherence to licence conditions. With the exclusive right representing approximately 70% of Skywest's passenger numbers at the beginning of the licence period, the company has been able to exploit this stable operating base to significantly expand its business.

The opportunity for expansion has resulted from a strong Western Australian economy – lead by an expanding resources sector, though with tourism also contributing. The company's most recent operating statistics published on 7th November showed that in its financial year to date regular transport passengers carried (excluding charter passengers) have increased by 2.83% to 137,083, but it is the scheduled charter side of the business where the company is enjoying the largest growth in revenues. During the same time period charter services increased to 750 from 442 – an increase of 69.7%.



Operations


Skywest's destinations are shown on the map below.



Source: Skywest Airlines


At the time of Advent Air's AIM admission Skywest's fleet consisted of five wholly owned Fokker 50 (F-50) aircraft (46 passenger seats) and three leased Fokker 100 (F-100) jets (96 passenger seats). Today the fleet stands at seven owned F-50's and eight leased F-100's. These aircraft have an estimated remaining useful life of approximately 10 to 13 years.

The expansion of the fleet has enabled Skywest to continue to grow both its regular and scheduled charter operations – with it announcing on 19th May 2008 the largest increase in its network for several years. This has seen it increase capacity between Perth and the regional destinations of Exmouth, Geraldton and Albany and resume services to the town of Karratha. This follows the adding of additional Bali and Esperance services earlier in 2008 and the introduction of flights to Melbourne in October 2007.

To encourage this growth and help facilitate a continuing increase in passenger demand Skywest has engaged in various marketing initiatives. During the year to 30th June 2008 it signed an interline agreement with European operator Hahn Air providing seamless ticket transactions, joined Virgin Blue's Velocity loyalty program and agreed a code-share of selected routes with Virgin (providing Skywest with access to Virgin Blue's ticket sales network and offering passengers connectivity between Australia's East and West coasts) as well as appointing specialist tourism provider Creative Holidays as the new operator of its packaged holidays division which offers packages across destinations in Western Australia, Melbourne, Darwin and Bali.

Additionally, scheduled charter contract momentum has continued apace during the past year. On 2nd July 2008 the company announced a three-year contract (incorporating a 2 year option extension) with Rio Tinto for air charter services to mine sites in Western Australia which it believes to be the largest single air services contract in the Australian markets for services of that type. Rio Tinto has been a significant customer of the company since 2002 and in addition to that new agreement, contracts have also been announced in 2008 with Newcrest Operations Ltd, a member of major gold mining group Newcrest Mining, and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd, a leading iron ore company. These contracts are also both for three year terms with further term extensions possible.

Other leading resources companies for which Skywest provides scheduled charter services on multiple year contracts include Portman Iron Ore Ltd (worth over Australian$2 million per year), BHP Billiton (worth over A$2 million) and Newmont (annual revenues of over A$3 million). Additional contracted revenues, consequential to Skywest's last three scheduled charter service contracts signed amount, in aggregate, to an additional A$111 million over three years and, subject to option exercise, A$170 million over five years – thus emphasising the growth in the scale of the company's operations.



Strategy


Skywest's strategy is focussed on continuing to grow its regular passenger transport and scheduled charter businesses.

On the regular passenger side, the company sees the Western Australia tourism industry as a key area of focus. The enhancement of services to tourist destinations such as Albany and Esperance underlines this and the company will continue to seek to build exposure of its tourist destinations – as the ventures with Hahn Air, Virgin Blue and Creative Holidays have done. Where feasible, the company will also continue to add further routes to its network.

On the scheduled charter side, the company will continue to aggressively pursue long-term contracts as and when they become on offer in the regions Skywest serves. Where possible, it will leverage its unique ability to combine regular and scheduled charter passengers on the same flight – a technique which maximises efficiency, is in line with Western Australian Government policy and represents a valuable proposition to the company's resource sector clients which are required to support local communities in consideration for their right to mine.

In the past, the availability of aircraft has presented a challenge in the industry but Skywest benefits from having a dedicated aircraft lessor in PLUS Markets quoted Avation Plc*. Avation was spun off from Advent Air in 2006 by way of a special dividend to shareholders and Jeff Chatfield, the Executive Chairman of Skywest is also Chairman of Avation. A key element of this aircraft access strategy is that it avoids the requirement for Skywest to make significant outright capital investments. This ensures the company is able to minimise debt on its balance sheet whilst not harming earnings; if it acquired outright it would suffer increased interest and depreciation charges.

Furthermore, additional increases in scale should enable Skywest to make further efficiency gains as overheads are in the main part fixed. The realisation of economy of scale benefits is a key focus of the company moving forward.

In addition to these strategies to enhance shareholder value, Skywest has implemented a significant programme of repurchasing shares for cancellation. This is a further, and tax effective, method the company is utilising to increase its earnings per share. In calendar 2007 the company repurchased 7,936,073 shares for cancellation and thus far in 2008 a further 3,080,205 shares have been repurchased.



Management


Jeff Chatfield – Executive Chairman.

The founder of Advent Air in 1997, Chatfield is an experienced public company and business director in the fields of airlines, aircraft leasing, radio, television and digital broadcasting. He is also Chairman of PLUS Markets quoted Avation Plc and a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and the Singapore Institute of Directors.

Seah Kian Peng – Non-Executive Director.

Elected as a Member of Parliament in the Marine Parade group representation constituency of Singapore in May 2006 General Elections, Peng has experience in both the public and private sectors. He attended the Advanced Management Programme at Harvard Business School and is the Managing Director (Singapore) of leading Singapore chain retailer NTUC Fairprice Co-operative Ltd and the Chairman of labour movement voice piece NTUC Media Co-operative Ltd, as well as sitting on the board of a number of Singapore public companies.

John Jost - Non-Executive Director.

A founder investor of Advent Air, Jost has been chief political correspondent of Melbourne's principal broadsheet The Age and has also served as publications and new projects manager for Australian publishing company David Syme Ltd, as well as being a founding presenter of highly respected ABC TV's national nightly current affairs programme The 7.30 Report.

Ron Aitkenhead – Non-Executive Director.

A Graduate and Fellow of the Australia Institute of Directors and a Justice of the Peace with the Western Australian Department of Justice, Aitkenhead has experience as Chairman of Western Australia's Fremantle Port and Chairman of the Board of the Central Wheatbelt Business Enterprise Centre. He also holds positions with several community and sporting organisations.

Skywest Senior Management Team:

Hugh Davin – Managing Director

With a career in aviation which spans 37 years, including senior management and director experience with fellow Australian airline National Jet Systems, Davin joined Skywest in January 2007 as Head of Business Development. He was appointed Managing Director in April of that year.

Paul Daff – Chief Executive Officer

With over 12 years experience in both the low cost and full service airline industry, Daff joined Skywest in February 2007. He was previously Head of Commercial for Jetstar Asia Airways & Valuair, based in Singapore.

Karen Haynes – Chief Financial Officer

A member of Certified Practising Accountants Australia and with over 13 years experience in accounting and business services, Haynes joined Skywest Airlines in June 2007.

Mike Hoar – Chief Operating Officer

With a career in aviation spanning more than 25 years – including senior management positions with Pearl Aviation and Skippers Aviation – Hoar has been with Skywest since October 2003.



SWOT Analysis


Strengths:

Established and well-known brand name - Skywest Airlines has been operating since 1963 and its brand name is well established and regarded by customers, industry and regulators in Western and Northern Australia.

Sole permitted operator to a number of regional destinations - Skywest's current holding of an exclusive licence for a number of Western Australia coastal routes provides it with a stable operating base. The exclusive right represents approximately 50% of the company's passenger numbers.

Multiple year scheduled charter contracts with major resource companies – Skywest's plethora of multi-year contracts with major miners provide the company with a reliable and highly visible revenue base, as well as cash flow to fund expansion.

Experienced senior management team – Skywest has a vastly experienced team of directors and senior managers driving the business forward.

Stable industrial relations – Skywest has predictable arrangements with the majority of its workforce. It announced in February 2008 a landmark three year collective agreement with the Flight Attendants Association of Australia and also currently has in place collective agreements concerning its pilots and engineers.

Balance sheet – the company has net cash.

Weaknesses:

Reliance on operating environment – As with all airline companies, Skywest's financial performance is acutely related to its operating environment. Whilst many airlines have been suffering from unfavourable market dynamics for a while now, Skywest's unique position has seen it thrive. However, the company's operations are not immune from the global economic downturn and particularly the recent significant commodity price declines. In its recent results statement the company noted that shareholders should anticipate a slow down in the rate of growth due to the global crisis of confidence associated with the credit institutions.

Reliance on regional regulators – In the Australian and South East Asia region where the company operates, regional governments retain significant regulatory powers. To the extent of this Skywest's development potential is not in its control.

Opportunities:

Additional long-term scheduled charter contracts with resource companies – Despite recent credit woes and commodity price declines, there remain billions of dollars worth of major resource projects underway or planned in Western Australia. Nearly all of these are totally dependent on air transport from Perth to mining sites in typically remote regions. Skywest's brand strength and market position means it is in a strong position to win further long-term scheduled charter contracts for such projects.

Tourism – The company stands to benefit from long-term growth in Western Australia tourism and is actively seeking to build exposure of the tourist destinations it is able to offer services to. Further interline and code-share agreements may facilitate future growth in this area.

Threats:

Operating environment – The deteriorating global economic climate, tightening availability of credit and recent commodity price declines pose evident threats to both current and future demand for Skywest's services. In particular, a decline in commodity sector activity and a deteriorating Western Australia economy could stymie growth. However, it should be noted that the company's current charter contracts are multi-year deals with major companies and that the market for these services remains significant despite the global downturn.

Initial term of exclusive licence soon to expire – The initial three year term on the company's exclusive licence ends on 31st December 2008 and the Government of Western Australia is currently undertaking a review of intrastate air services to determine a post 2008 regime. A new competitive tender process or the opening up of Skywest's current exclusive routes to competition are potential threats even though the company has reduced its reliance on its exclusive right from approximately 70% of passenger numbers at the beginning of the present licence period to approximately 50% currently.

However, we would note that Skywest's current licence includes a potential two year extension grantable at the Minister for Planning and Infrastructure's discretion, based on performance and adherence to licence conditions, that Skywest's standing in the region has enabled it to successfully tender for these routes previously and that the routes under the licence were initially regulated to ensure their provision since they were considered potentially non-economic.

On the first two points, Skywest looks to have enhanced its standing during the current licence period. Its scheduled charter flights help facilitate Western Australia's economic activity and its contribution to state tourism was recognised and acknowledged as the company was inducted in the Hall of Fame at the 2007 Western Australian Tourism Awards. On the third point, the airline industry in general is faced with a continuingly difficult operating environment – meaning Skywest's ability to combine regular and scheduled charter passengers on the same flight, as well as being in line with Western Australian Government policy, is even more significant and thus the company looks to be in a strong position for the post 2008 structure.

Competition – As well as the threat of competition on its current exclusive routes, the bidding for charter contracts is also fiercely competitive. This impacts on Skywest's ability to renew and win such contracts – particularly as various potential competitors have significantly greater financial resources. However, the size of the Western Australia resource sector, Skywest's established brand and reputation and the company's recent track record all suggest the company looks set for continued success in renewing existing and winning new charter contracts.

Fuel Costs – The airline industry globally has suffered as a result of high oil prices in recent times. Although such prices have fallen back significantly from their highs, the long-term demand-supply balance suggests prices are likely to increase again in the future. To mitigate this issue Skywest operates a transparent fuel levy policy on ticket sales to the general public and incorporates rise-and-fall provisions in its charter contracts.

Pilots current Enterprise Bargaining Agreement soon to expire – The current agreement with the Transport Worker's Union of Australia representing pilots employed by Skywest ends on 8th January 2009. Skywest's recent stable industrial relations record suggests this should not represent a significant threat to the company's operations though.

Typical aviation and business risks – As an airline operator, particularly one operating primarily in Australia and being based, and reporting in, Singapore dollars, Skywest faces all manner of inherent risks – for example security and exchange rate risk. The company reported in its latest results statement that the recent drop in the value of the Australian dollar has caused an increase in some costs, which it will endeavour to hedge in future.



Significant Shareholdings


Skywest Airlines' issued share capital currently consists of 199,500,000 ordinary shares. Those holding more than 3% of the current issued share capital are:

Jeff Chatfield (Chairman) 15.04%
UBS AG London Branch 12.19%
RAB Special Situations (Master) Fund Ltd
(via Credit Suisse Client Nominees (UK) Ltd) 3.68%
City Natural Resources High Yield Trust Plc
(registered in the name of State Street Bank Nominees Ltd) 3.65%



Recent Results, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow


Skywest announced results for the year ended 30th June 2008 on 13th November. These showed a 14% increase in pre-tax profit to Singapore$14.48 million (£5.04 million) on turnover up over 41% to S$184.20 million (£64.12 million). Basic earnings per share rose from 3.61 cents (1.26p) to 5.22 cents (1.82p) which facilitated a final dividend payment of 0.70 cents (0.24p) per share, taking the dividend for the year as a whole to 1.40 cents (0.49p) per share. This dividend payout is less than initially anticipated but represents the company's cognisance of the economic environment and Skywest re-assured in the results statement that it will "continue to strive to maintain a progressive dividend policy going forward".

The balance sheet showed an 11.8% increase in net assets to S$53.11 million (£18.49 million) and an 18.6% increase in net tangible assets to S$35.85 million (£12.48 million) over those at 30th June 2007. Net cash at period end stood at S$6.86 million (£2.39 million) as the company generated a net S$20.99 million (£7.31 million) from operating activities. Overall however there was a cash outflow of S$3.51 million (£1.22 million) principally as a result of an S$18.99 million (£6.61 million) investment in the purchase of property, plant and equipment.



Valuation, Forecasts and Conclusion


In light of the prevailing conditions in which Skywest is operating, we now forecast pre-tax profit increasing to S$16.5 million on turnover of S$210 million for the current year ending 30th June 2009. The forecast growth is provided by the number of multi-year scheduled charter contracts the company has won since June 2007 and should see basic earnings per share at constant exchange rates increased from 1.82p last year to 2.07p this year.

With good earnings visibility provided by the plethora of multi-year contracts with major miners, fears about the threats Skywest faces look over-discounted in a current share price of 8.5p – which puts the company on a historic price earnings multiple of just 4.7 and a prospective current year multiple of 4.1. This, coupled with the company having strong balance sheet support, including net cash of £2.4 million, and what looks to be a secure 5.8% dividend yield limit the downside but fails to recognise the potential for future growth which remains likely given what remains a significant Western Australian resource sector and our belief that on a long-term view commodity prices in general will trade at much high levels than those currently prevailing.

Even on a short-term view, given that Skywest is still likely to record material growth in the current year, we regard a price earnings multiple of 10 as far from demanding. This suggests a target price of 20.7p but even at this level the shares would trade on a PEG of 0.73 and offer a yield – even on an unchanged dividend payout - of 2.4%, with this far from dismissible given the interest rate outlook. As such with the shares at 8.5p our stance is buy.

Forecast Table

Year to 30th June
Sales (S$ million)
Pre-tax Profit (S$ million)
Earnings Per Share (p)
Price Earnings Ratio
Dividend Per Share (p)
Dividend Yield (%)

2007A
130.49
12.70
1.26
6.7
0.73
8.6

2008A
184.20
14.48
1.82
4.7
0.49
5.8

2009E
210.00
16.50
2.07
4.1
0.49
5.8


[/quote]


I should declare that SKYW is a corporate client of RSH, for whom I work.

Anna Faelten
Rivington Street Holdings

[standish11] 13/11/2008 12:02

Good results announced today but only muted response to the share price so far.It will be interesting to see if there is a more positive reaction when analysts,TW etc have had a chance to digest the results and outlook statement.

[wozelbeak] 08/11/2008 16:47

For immediate release
7 November 2008


SKYWEST AIRLINES LTD
(formerly known as Advent Air Ltd, "Skywest" or "the Company")

OCTOBER 2008 AIRLINE PASSENGER OPERATING STATISTICS AND SKYWEST FARE INCREASE

Scheduled Charter services up 54.47%

Skywest, the Australian and South East Asia regional airline, is pleased to announce
airline network operating statistics for the month
of October 2008, showing a 54.47% increase in scheduled charter services - rising to 190 from
123 in October 2007.

Growth at Skywest continues, with passenger numbers for the month increasing by 1.83% over
the previous year to 34,405. Skywest traffic,
measured by Revenue Passenger Kilometres (RPKs) increased by 17.93%, while capacity, measured
by Available Seat Kilometres (ASKs) increased
by 31.57% over the same period. The airline's load factor, the calculation of which does not
include scheduled charter passengers, decreased
by 6.32% to 54.64% year on year.

Skywest announces today that it will increase its full economy fares by 4%, the first such
increase in almost 3 years. Skywest has also
reviewed other fares on the coastal network operated by the airline. A part of the fare review
will also see the implementation of a new
'Web Fare'. Skywest's new WEBBIT fare will be an advance purchase fare that can be purchased
online, and will be lower than any existing
fare level, provided it is purchased in advance.

Jeff Chatfield, Executive Chairman of Skywest said: "Growth in the business of Skywest has
continued as highlighted by this month's
passenger statistics. Our charter services continue to develop. This week Skywest flew the
maiden Rio Tinto chartered service to the iron
ore production site at West Angelas.

"Skywest's new online WEBBIT fare system ensures that advance purchase passengers may
receive fares that are lower than any other
existing fare level."


Month of October
October-08 October-07 Change
Passengers Carried ('000s) 34,405 33,787 1.83%
Revenue Passenger Kilometres ('000s) 30,204,597 25,612,477 17.93%
Available Seat Kilometres ('000s) 55,279,255 42,014,847 31.57%
Load Factor % 54.64% 60.96% -6.32%
Charter Services 190 123 54.47%
Average Aircraft in Fleet 14 10

Financial Year to Date
2008/09 2007/08 Change
Passengers Carried ('000s) 137,083 133,311 2.83%
Revenue Passenger Kilometres ('000s) 124,009,212 107,023,222 15.87%
Available Seat Kilometres ('000s) 217,351,447 175,748,153 23.67%
Load Factor % 57.05% 60.90% -3.84%
Charter Services 750 442 69.68%
Average Aircraft in Fleet 13 10



Notes:
* Monthly operating statistics are issued on a preliminary basis and are subject to
change. Any adjustments made will flow through
to the year to date results
* Passengers Carried refers to Regular Passenger Transport passengers and therefore
excludes charter passengers
* RPKs refers to the number of paying passengers carried multiplied by the number of
kilometres flown
* ASKs refers to the number of seats available for sale to passengers multiplied by
the number of kilometres flown
* Load factor is RPKs divided by ASKs

[stluke] 09/10/2008 08:22

Charter services continue to be strong but RPK's for the month were rather disappointing, could do with the company giving us a general update of operations as we have had no detailed news since March.

[berny3] 07/9/2008 09:59

For anyone wanting to know greater detail on Skywest this wikipedia link is very good.

[berny3] 06/9/2008 19:10

But the fuel price is factored into the ticket price so margins on ticket sales should not ne too adversely impacted, aslong as ticket sales maintain their growth. Next week we should have operating stats for August.

[stegrego] 05/9/2008 18:38

Fuel not dropping quite as fast in Oz due to the A$ moving about 15% against the dollar, thereby making fuel more expensive.

Still interesting, but very much based on the commodities story keeping strong.

[berny3] 05/9/2008 14:03

you have to add in the curency effect as well sterling falling in value has helped, as it will with the results.

I do not think this has been reflected in the market price.

[wozelbeak] 03/9/2008 06:18

any guesses on what div they might pay this year?
could see operating figures this Friday, sure to be up again.

[ascender] 19/8/2008 14:18

Good to see someone is actually writing about this company. It seems to suffer slightly from a lack of exposure.

It's great news they are still expanding - slightly curious as to why the aircraft lease they announced yesterday is a fair bit more expensive than the one annouced a few days before?? Newer plane??

Anyway, all seems good to me...

[stluke] 19/8/2008 13:28

Another muted response to what is another sign of profitable expansion, also small piece from yesterdays independent small cap section below.



Skywest airline on a high


Here is a piece of shocking news: Skywest is a profitable Aim-listed company. And here is piece of even more shocking news: it is an airline.

The group is 45 years old, but has had a shot in the arm since 2003, when the executive chairman, Jeff Chatfield, and his team decided to target clients in the mining sector, a boom market in Western Australia.

That decision turned out to be rather a shrewd one. As the likes of British Airways and Ryanair continually tell tales of woe, Skywest was able to announce a 94.9 per cent year-on-year increase in charter services for July. Even the most casual reader of this column will already have realised that miners are among one of the few sectors making any money during the downturn, and as they travel around, ancillary groups like Skywest are benefiting.

One of the biggest complaints among other airlines is that they are not able to readily pass on increases in oil costs to the passenger. Not a problem for Skywest, says Mr Chatfield, who points out that his contracts with the likes of Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton include provisions for the extra cost to be passed straight through.

[stluke] 14/8/2008 13:21

Agreed Ascender, slightly annoyed with myself i didnt pick up some more the other day, however no free cash avaiable at the time, as you say will be very interesting to see in the finals how the GP% margin has held up with the higher fuel prices, if they have managed to migrate much of the increase than the substantial increase in revenue should feed nicely down to the bottom line.