BUZZ - Frontier Airlines shares rise on unexpected quarterly profit and optimistic outlook for the fourth quarter

October 28 - ** Frontier Airlines (ULCC.O) shares rose more than 4% in premarket trading, to $5.76

** According to data compiled by LSEG, the company expects (link) adjusted earnings per share for the fourth quarter to range from a loss of $0.15 to a profit of $0.05, with the midpoint slightly better than analysts’ average forecast of a $0.06 loss

** Adjusted earnings per share were $0.18, beating the market expectation of a $0.04 loss; the loss in the same period last year was $0.34

** Revenue was $1.36 billion, up 53% year-on-year and above the expected $1.29 billion

** Third-quarter RASM (a pricing power indicator) rose 30% to 11.87 cents

** Fourth-quarter fuel costs are expected to be $4.75 per gallon, up from $3.96 per gallon in the third quarter

** As of the previous trading day’s close, the stock had gained 17.4% year to date

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