CO posts 1Q07 Profit of $22 million
Apr 19, 2007, 7:54 am
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CO posts 1Q07 Profit of $22 million
NEW YORK, April 19 (Reuters) - Continental Airlines Inc. (CAL.N: Quote, Profile , Research) on Thursday posted a higher-than-expected first-quarter profit helped by fuller planes, higher fares and a slight decline in fuel prices.
It was the first time the airline reported a profit in the seasonally weak first quarter since 2001, marking another milestone in the recovery of long-suffering U.S. airlines, which began in earnest last summer.
Aggressive cost cutting and resurgent demand for air travel have helped airlines post profits, in many cases, for the first time in years. AMR Corp. (AMR.N: Quote, Profile , Research), the parent of the world's largest carrier, American Airlines, reported a similar earnings turnaround on Wednesday.
Continental, the No. 4 U.S. carrier, reported net income of $22 million, or 21 cents per share, compared with a year-earlier net loss of $66 million, or 76 cents per share.
The two major carriers made a profit despite the seasonally sluggish period for air travel, which was complicated by winter storms that caused mass flight cancellations.
Continental said severe winter storms cut $10 million off its quarterly revenue, but said overall operating revenue still rose 8 percent to $3.18 billion. Its load factor -- the percentage of seats filled with paying passengers -- increased 0.8 points to 78.7 percent.
Excluding a gain from the sale of the company's holdings in regional carrier ExpressJet Holdings Inc. (XJT.N: Quote, Profile , Research) and some other one-time items, Continental reported profit of 25 cents per share. On that basis, Wall Street analysts were expecting 14 cents, according to Reuters Estimates. Revenue was in line with analyst estimates.
It was the first time the airline reported a profit in the seasonally weak first quarter since 2001, marking another milestone in the recovery of long-suffering U.S. airlines, which began in earnest last summer.
Aggressive cost cutting and resurgent demand for air travel have helped airlines post profits, in many cases, for the first time in years. AMR Corp. (AMR.N: Quote, Profile , Research), the parent of the world's largest carrier, American Airlines, reported a similar earnings turnaround on Wednesday.
Continental, the No. 4 U.S. carrier, reported net income of $22 million, or 21 cents per share, compared with a year-earlier net loss of $66 million, or 76 cents per share.
The two major carriers made a profit despite the seasonally sluggish period for air travel, which was complicated by winter storms that caused mass flight cancellations.
Continental said severe winter storms cut $10 million off its quarterly revenue, but said overall operating revenue still rose 8 percent to $3.18 billion. Its load factor -- the percentage of seats filled with paying passengers -- increased 0.8 points to 78.7 percent.
Excluding a gain from the sale of the company's holdings in regional carrier ExpressJet Holdings Inc. (XJT.N: Quote, Profile , Research) and some other one-time items, Continental reported profit of 25 cents per share. On that basis, Wall Street analysts were expecting 14 cents, according to Reuters Estimates. Revenue was in line with analyst estimates.
Apr 19, 2007, 1:44 pm
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Took a bit of a beating today... down 5.5%