UAL REPORTS $589 MILLION FULL-YEAR 2012 PROFIT EXCLUDING SPECIAL CHARGES; $723 MILLION LOSS INCLUDING SPECIAL CHARGES

UAL REPORTS $190 MILLION FOURTH-QUARTER 2012 LOSS EXCLUDING SPECIAL CHARGES; $620 MILLION LOSS INCLUDING SPECIAL CHARGES

CHICAGO, Jan. 24, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- United Continental Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: UAL) today reported full-year 2012 net income of $589 million, or $1.59 per diluted share, excluding $1.3 billion of special charges. Including special charges, UAL reported a full-year 2012 net loss of $723 million, or $2.18 per share. UAL reported a fourth-quarter 2012 net loss of $190 million, or $0.58 per share, excluding $430 million of special charges. Including special charges, UAL reported a fourth-quarter 2012 net loss of $620 million, or $1.87 per share.

• UAL full-year 2012 consolidated passenger revenue increased 0.2 percent year-over-year. Consolidated passenger revenue per available seat mile
  (PRASM) increased 1.7 percent in 2012 compared to 2011.
• Superstorm Sandy reduced fourth-quarter revenue by approximately $140 million and profit by approximately $85 million.
• Full-year 2012 consolidated unit costs (CASM), holding fuel rate and profit sharing constant and excluding special charges and third-party business expense, increased 2.5 percent year-over-year on a consolidated capacity reduction of 1.5 percent. Full-year 2012 consolidated CASM increased 6.7 percent year-over-year.
• UAL ended 2012 with $7.0 billion in unrestricted liquidity.
• Co-workers earned $119 million in profit sharing for full-year 2012, which will be distributed on Feb. 14, 2013.

"I want to thank my co-workers for working together in 2012 as we completed the most difficult aspects of our merger integration," said Jeff Smisek, UAL's chairman, president and chief executive officer. "With much of our integration behind us, our significantly improved operational performance and our increasing customer satisfaction, we can now go forward as one company. This year we will continue on our path to becoming the world's leading airline."

Fourth-Quarter Revenue and Capacity

For the fourth quarter of 2012, total revenue was $8.7 billion, a decrease of 2.5 percent year-over-year. Fourth-quarter consolidated passenger revenue decreased 3.6 percent to $7.5 billion, compared to the same period in 2011.

Consolidated revenue passenger miles (RPMs) decreased 3.2 percent on a consolidated capacity (available seat miles) decrease of 4.2 percent year-over-year for the fourth quarter, resulting in a fourth-quarter consolidated load factor of 82.3 percent.

Fourth-quarter 2012 consolidated PRASM increased 0.6 percent compared to the same period in 2011. Consolidated yield for the fourth quarter of 2012 decreased 0.4 percent year-over-year.

Mainline RPMs in the fourth quarter of 2012 decreased 3.7 percent on a mainline capacity decrease of 4.3 percent year-over-year, resulting in a fourth-quarter mainline load factor of 82.5 percent. Mainline yield for the fourth quarter of 2012 decreased 0.9 percent compared to the same period in 2011. Fourth-quarter 2012 mainline PRASM decreased 0.3 percent year-over-year.

"While we didn't meet our revenue goals in 2012, we have addressed the integration issues that drove our underperformance," said Jim Compton, UAL's vice chairman and chief revenue officer. "We're now positioned to capitalize on market opportunities across our network, and to earn back our share of revenue, based on solid operations and great customer service.

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Fourth-Quarter Costs

Total operating expenses, excluding special charges, increased $94 million, or 1.1 percent, in the fourth quarter versus the same period in 2011. Including special charges, fourth-quarter total operating expenses increased $284 million, or 3.2 percent, year-over-year. Third-party business expense was $118 million in the fourth quarter.

Consolidated and mainline CASM, excluding special charges and third-party business expense, increased 4.8 percent and 5.0 percent, respectively, in the fourth quarter of 2012 compared to the same period of 2011. Fourth-quarter consolidated and mainline CASM, including special charges, increased 7.7 and 8.5 percent year-over-year, respectively.

In the fourth quarter, consolidated and mainline CASM, excluding special charges and third-party business expense and holding fuel rate and profit sharing constant, increased 4.8 percent and 4.7 percent, respectively, compared to the results for the same period of 2011.

"While we reported a full-year profit in 2012, these results clearly fell short of our expectations and the return goals we have set," said John Rainey, UAL's executive vice president and chief financial officer. "2013 will be an important year for us as we take the necessary steps to create economic value and achieve a sufficient level of profitability."

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