|
AMR 1Q net dives
|
 |
April 21, 1999: 10:47 a.m. ET
Pilots' job action hits earnings; US Airways, TWA results exceed forecasts
|
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - AMR Corp. said Wednesday that first-quarter earnings fell sharply as a result of a job action by American Airlines pilots in February.
Two other carriers, US Airways and Trans World Airlines, reported results that exceeded the consensus of analysts surveyed by First Call.
AMR said earnings before a gain slumped to $56 million, or 34 cents a diluted share, from $285 million, or $1.59 a share, a year earlier. The results were a penny above the First Call consensus of 33 cents.
"We are obviously disappointed that the illegal job action undertaken by the Allied Pilots Association leadership so dramatically impacted our first-quarter financial results," Donald Carty, AMR's chairman, said.
The job action centered around pilot concern that the carrier would pay lower wages to pilots of its recently acquired Reno Air subsidiary.
Including gains from the sale of some assets, AMR's (AMR) net income was $158 million, or 96 cents a diluted share, compared with net income of $290 million, or $1.62 a share, in the first quarter of 1998.
Revenue slumped 5.6 percent to $3.99 billion. American Airlines' revenue passenger miles declined 0.4 percent to 25.29 billion, and passenger load factor shrank 0.2 percentage point to 67.1 percent. AMR Eagle had a 14.8 percent increase in revenue passenger miles and a 0.9 percentage point gain in load factor.
AMR also said it will accelerate retirement of its DC-10 and 727 fleets. The DC-10s will be out of operation by the end of 2000, while the 727s will be phased out by the end of 2003.
The company said the retirements will be matched by delivery of more than 115 aircraft by the end of 2001. It said the earlier retirements will keep passenger capacity in line with expected demand, which has slowed due to weaker growth in international markets.
AMR shares were up 13/16 to 68-5/8 in Wednesday morning trading.
US Airways
US Airways (U) said earnings before a gain shrank to $36 million, or 49 cents a diluted share, from $98 million, or 96 cents, a year earlier. Though lower, the results exceeded the First Call consensus of 45 cents.
Including the gain on the sale of depository certificates, earnings for the latest quarter were $46 million, or 56 cents a diluted share.
"Facing a simultaneous test of poor weather and a complex conversion to a new computer system, our employees met the challenge and demonstrated their true professionalism," said US Airways president Rakesh Gangwal. "As we look ahead to the next quarter and the balance of the year, we expect to see a much improved performance."
Revenue rose 0.4 percent to $2.07 billion. Revenue passenger miles rose 1 percent to 9.57 billion, while passenger load factor declined 1.3 percentage points to 67.7 percent.
US Airways stock was up 2 to 54-7/8 in Wednesday morning trading.
TWA
Trans World Airlines (TWA) said its first-quarter loss from operations eased to $34.6 million, or 62 cents a basic share, from $54.14 million, or $1.04, a year earlier. The share loss figure was below the 65 cents consensus of First Call analysts.
Including extraordinary items, TWA's loss narrowed to $21.56 million, or 42 cents a share, from $55.52 million, or $1.06 a share, a year earlier.
"These results show continued progress toward sustainable profitability," says Gerald Gitner, TWA's chairman. "This improvement is attributable to our ability to produce a reliable airline operation that has enabled us not only to increase traffic but to build unit revenue."
Revenue slipped 0.1 percent to $764.59 million. Revenue passenger miles were virtually unchanged at 5.72 billion, while load factor increased 0.8 percentage point to 68.9 percent.
TWA stock was up 3/16 to 5-11/16 in Wednesday morning trading. 
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
