SAVE Spirit Airlines Inc

Discount airline Spirit Airlines Inc. said profit surged 33% in its fourth quarter on cheaper fuel costs, though its average flight fares slid amid heavy competition.

The results come about a month after Spirit unexpectedly replaced its chief executive, Ben Baldanza, after a period of rapid expansion for the upstart carrier, which reshaped the U.S. airline industry but has recently seen its stock price decline.

Robert Fornaro, an industry veteran who joined the company's board in 2014, took over the role. Mr. Fornaro said in prepared statements Tuesday that he plans to improve on Spirit's fundamentals.

Shares of Spirit added 6.3% to $42.91 a share in late morning trading. The stock is still down about 43% in the past year.

Like many airlines, Spirit's fourth-quarter profit was lifted by cheaper airline fuel.

Overall, Spirit reported a profit of $74.4 million, or $1.04 a share, up from $55.9 million, or 76 cents a share, a year earlier.

Excluding special items, per-share earnings were $1.02 a share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had forecast 99 cents a share in earnings.

A 24% decline in fuel costs helped lift earnings, but cost controls also lifted the bottom line. Excluding special items and fuel, Spirit's cost per available seat mile fell 8.2% in the quarter.

Revenue rose 9.6% to $519.8 million, above the $518.7 million analysts had forecast.

Revenue per passenger flight segment fell 13% to $111.8 million, due to a 21% slide in ticket revenue.

Spirit cited lower fare levels as being a result of increased competition.

Amid oil's decline, airlines have added flights and seats that weren't profitable when fuel was pricier. That's caused fares to decline for many airlines.

Write to Chelsey Dulaney at Chelsey.Dulaney@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 09, 2016 12:45 ET (17:45 GMT)

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