Hawaiian Holdings
still contemplating
decision on stockThe airline's parent company
is facing an Aug. 14 deadline
to file its second-quarter earnings
Hawaiian Airlines' parent still hasn't made a decision regarding its stock as the clock ticks down to its second-quarter filing deadline with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Hawaiian Holdings Inc.'s SEC report is due Aug. 14. With a routine five-day extension, the company could hold off filing until Aug. 19.
"The company continues to have discussions with the (American Stock Exchange) regarding what is involved in a listing, and we're continuing to look at alternatives to address that," said Richard Havel, an attorney for Hawaiian Holdings. "We have not made a final decision on how to approach this."
Hawaiian Airlines spokesman Keoni Wagner said the airline, which has been filing monthly operating reports with U.S. Bankruptcy Court, doesn't plan on putting out a quarterly earnings release.
The stock was halted by the Amex at 80 cents on July 14 when transfer agent Mellon Investor Services LLC resigned after not being paid. Airline trustee Joshua Gotbaum, who was hired to oversee the airline's Chapter 11 reorganization, has said it's not the airline's responsibility to pay the financial obligations of the holding company.
Last month, Hawaiian Holdings Chairman and Chief Executive John Adams, who held those same titles with the airline before being ousted for questionable financial dealings, met with Gotbaum in New York to try to convince him to pay the parent company's stock-related financial obligations. Havel wouldn't comment on the meeting but said there are no further meetings scheduled.
However, Havel said "it's likely, as the process goes forward, there will be meetings as appropriate or necessary."
Havel said moving the stock to the Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board remains an option, but a source close to the situation said the company is focused on remaining on the Amex.
"Nothing has been worked out yet," said the source. "The next step is to continue to talk to the SEC and the Amex and see what would be agreeable to them and what kind of filing (can be made)."
The source said the next move will be up to Adams, who is the controlling member of AIP LLC, Hawaiian Holdings' majority investor.
Meanwhile, Gotbaum and Mark Dunkerley, president and chief operating officer of Hawaiian Airlines, said in a letter to employees Thursday that they were encouraged by the $10.7 million operating profit in June. The same month a year ago, they said, was plagued by DC-10 operational problems and continued sluggishness in consumer travel demand.
"This year, with the new fleet in place and travel rebounding somewhat, our performance was better," the letter said.
Hawaiian Airlines, though, still operated at a deficit through the first half of the year when a special one-time $17.5 million federal security grant from the Emergency Wartime Act is excluded. The airline, which showed a $13.8 million, six-month operating profit with the May grant, had an operating loss of $3.7 million for that period without it. A year ago, the airline's operating loss for the first six months was $43.7 million.
