Three U.S. airlines post profits, but not US Airways-Reuters
Oct 21, 2003, 9:21 am
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Three U.S. airlines post profits, but not US Airways-Reuters
Reuters
Three U.S. airlines post profits, but not US Airways
Tuesday October 21, 10:33 am ET
By Kathy Fieweger
CHICAGO, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Three more U.S. airlines on Tuesday posted relatively strong quarterly profits on good summer ticket sales, but not US Airways Group, which suffered its second consecutive loss since emerging from bankruptcy.
On the whole, the results from the smaller U.S. carriers were better than the disastrous shortfalls posted during the last two years, which sent two of the biggest U.S. airlines -- -- US Airways and UAL Corp.'s (OTC BB:UALAQ.OB - News) United Airlines -- into bankruptcy.
But experts cautioned against predicting an end to the industry's worst financial crisis ever, as the approaching winter is likely to spark more losses.
"The legacy carriers are still struggling," said Blaylock & Partners analyst Ray Neidl of the largest airlines. "We've had a couple of pleasant surprises, like Northwest. But ... they still have a lot to do as far as cost-cutting goes. The low-cost carriers, on the other hand, look like they've come roaring back."
No. 8 U.S. airline, America West Holdings Corp. (NYSE:AWA - News), No. 9 Alaska Air Group Inc. (NYSE:ALK - News), and ATA Holdings Corp. (NasdaqNM:ATAH - News) all posted profits that beat Wall Street expectations, largely fueled by revenue gains and trimming of costs.
But No. 7 US Airways Group (Nasdaq:UAIR - News), which began trading on the Nasdaq on Tuesday under the "UAIR" stock symbol, reported a $90 million loss, on top of its second-quarter pretax loss excluding government assistance of $154 million.
"Although our performance for the quarter is disappointing, we are encouraged by the fact that unit revenue is improving while at the same time our unit costs continue to decline," US Airways' chief financial officer, Neal Cohen, said in a statement. "We must remain focused on effectively controlling our costs and preserving liquidity."
US Airways, which emerged from Chapter 11 protection in March after eight months in bankruptcy court, ended the quarter with $1.94 billion in cash. No. 2 carrier, United, is still in bankruptcy.
US Airways shares were up 8.8 percent at $8.81 on Tuesday morning, and the American Stock Exchange Airline Index (AMEX:
XAL - News) was up 1.7 percent at 70.09.
RISING PROFITS IN THE WEST
America West's profit of $33 million, or 60 cents per share, was well above the Wall Street consensus estimate of 28 cents a share, according to Reuters Research. The airline attributed the strong results to more attractive business fares.
"We have successfully transformed our business model into a low-fare, full-service carrier, and the positive results of that transformation are evident in our third-quarter results," said Chief Executive Douglas Parker.
Gary Chase, analyst at Lehman Brothers, noted that America West's unit revenue, or amount of money taken in per seat available on the airplane, rose more than 14 percent.
"We worry, however, about the sustainability of explosive revenue trends witnessed of late," Chase said.
At Alaska Air, third-quarter net income was $41 million, or $1.52 per share, compared with $12.5 million, or 47 cents per share, a year earlier.
Alaska, whose business is driven largely by vacation travel in the state of Alaska and on the U.S. West Coast, typically sees peak results in the North American summer months.
"We're encouraged by these numbers, but have considerable work to do to return to profitability on a full-year basis," said Chief Executive Bill Ayer.
ATA, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, reported a net profit of $8 million, or 56 cents per primary share and 50 cents per diluted share, for the third quarter, compared with a net loss of $61 million, or $5.18 per share. (Additional reporting by Meredith Grossman Dubner and David Bailey in Chicago)
Three U.S. airlines post profits, but not US Airways
Tuesday October 21, 10:33 am ET
By Kathy Fieweger
CHICAGO, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Three more U.S. airlines on Tuesday posted relatively strong quarterly profits on good summer ticket sales, but not US Airways Group, which suffered its second consecutive loss since emerging from bankruptcy.
On the whole, the results from the smaller U.S. carriers were better than the disastrous shortfalls posted during the last two years, which sent two of the biggest U.S. airlines -- -- US Airways and UAL Corp.'s (OTC BB:UALAQ.OB - News) United Airlines -- into bankruptcy.
But experts cautioned against predicting an end to the industry's worst financial crisis ever, as the approaching winter is likely to spark more losses.
"The legacy carriers are still struggling," said Blaylock & Partners analyst Ray Neidl of the largest airlines. "We've had a couple of pleasant surprises, like Northwest. But ... they still have a lot to do as far as cost-cutting goes. The low-cost carriers, on the other hand, look like they've come roaring back."
No. 8 U.S. airline, America West Holdings Corp. (NYSE:AWA - News), No. 9 Alaska Air Group Inc. (NYSE:ALK - News), and ATA Holdings Corp. (NasdaqNM:ATAH - News) all posted profits that beat Wall Street expectations, largely fueled by revenue gains and trimming of costs.
But No. 7 US Airways Group (Nasdaq:UAIR - News), which began trading on the Nasdaq on Tuesday under the "UAIR" stock symbol, reported a $90 million loss, on top of its second-quarter pretax loss excluding government assistance of $154 million.
"Although our performance for the quarter is disappointing, we are encouraged by the fact that unit revenue is improving while at the same time our unit costs continue to decline," US Airways' chief financial officer, Neal Cohen, said in a statement. "We must remain focused on effectively controlling our costs and preserving liquidity."
US Airways, which emerged from Chapter 11 protection in March after eight months in bankruptcy court, ended the quarter with $1.94 billion in cash. No. 2 carrier, United, is still in bankruptcy.
US Airways shares were up 8.8 percent at $8.81 on Tuesday morning, and the American Stock Exchange Airline Index (AMEX:
XAL - News) was up 1.7 percent at 70.09.RISING PROFITS IN THE WEST
America West's profit of $33 million, or 60 cents per share, was well above the Wall Street consensus estimate of 28 cents a share, according to Reuters Research. The airline attributed the strong results to more attractive business fares.
"We have successfully transformed our business model into a low-fare, full-service carrier, and the positive results of that transformation are evident in our third-quarter results," said Chief Executive Douglas Parker.
Gary Chase, analyst at Lehman Brothers, noted that America West's unit revenue, or amount of money taken in per seat available on the airplane, rose more than 14 percent.
"We worry, however, about the sustainability of explosive revenue trends witnessed of late," Chase said.
At Alaska Air, third-quarter net income was $41 million, or $1.52 per share, compared with $12.5 million, or 47 cents per share, a year earlier.
Alaska, whose business is driven largely by vacation travel in the state of Alaska and on the U.S. West Coast, typically sees peak results in the North American summer months.
"We're encouraged by these numbers, but have considerable work to do to return to profitability on a full-year basis," said Chief Executive Bill Ayer.
ATA, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, reported a net profit of $8 million, or 56 cents per primary share and 50 cents per diluted share, for the third quarter, compared with a net loss of $61 million, or $5.18 per share. (Additional reporting by Meredith Grossman Dubner and David Bailey in Chicago)
Oct 21, 2003, 9:23 am
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http://biz.yahoo.com/rc/031021/airli...s_costs_1.html
Wonder what they will cut now. Probably something else from whats left of first class. Not the Milanos I hope
Wonder what they will cut now. Probably something else from whats left of first class. Not the Milanos I hope