The airline emerged from bankruptcy protection in March and requires a thorough “fresh start” accounting of assets and liabilities.
A Spirit A320 aircraft. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)
Spirit filed notice with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday that it will miss the deadline to file its first quarter earnings report.
The airline said that, because it just recently emerged from bankruptcy protection in March, it needs to apply “fresh start” accounting to its financial statements and disclosures, which means establishing a successor reporting entity and determining new fair values for its assets, liabilities, and equity. There is no way to complete that work by the deadline, the filing said, “without unreasonable effort or expense.”
According to law firm DLA Piper, the SEC deadline for filing quarterly earnings, known as the Form 10-Q, is 40 days after the end of the quarter for accelerated filers and 45 days after the end of the quarter for non-accelerated filers. For the quarter that ended on March 31, this translates to May 12 and 15.
Spirit’s filing said it expects to file its Form 10-Q at or before the end of May.
The ultra-low-cost carrier filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November 2024, citing high losses, increased competition, and growing debt. Some of those issues were linked to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain difficulties, and a mass recall of Pratt & Whitney-made geared turbofan engines, some of which were susceptible to cracking due to metal contamination.
Spirit was also dealing with the fallout of a failed $3.8 billion acquisition by JetBlue. The Justice Department’s antitrust division sued to block the buyout, arguing it would harm competition, and after a trial in 2023, a federal judge ruled against the JetBlue-Spirit partnership. Spirit’s stock price fell by 47 percent the day the decision was announced.
Spirit emerged from bankruptcy on March 13 after finalizing a debt restructuring plan. Company officials have said they want to move away from the airline’s no-frills reputation and rebrand as a premium option among budget carriers. As part of the proceedings, Spirit’s common stock was canceled, and newly issued shares will trade in the over-the-counter market.
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