Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL, DALRQ.PK) posted a sharp plunge in first-quarter GAAP net income to $7 million, or $0.01 per share, from $124 million, or $0.15 per share in the prior-year quarter. Quarterly GAAP net profit included $78 million in special items, and the latest quarter's results include $20 million of profit sharing expense in recognition of Delta employees' contributions to the company's financial performance, according to the company.
Excluding special items, net profit for the March 2013 quarter stood at $85 million, or $0.10 per share. On average, 15 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings per share of $0.06 for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items.
The firm clocked total operating revenues of $8.5 billion for the period, up 1 percent from last year's $8.41 billion. Analysts estimated revenues of $8.51 billion for the quarter. For the quarter, load factor increased to 81.2 percent, with traffic down 0.6 percent on a 2.5 percent drop in capacity, the company said.
For the second quarter, the company projects system capacity to be Flat to up 1% from last year, and operating margin to be 9% - 11%.
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com