UAL Corp loss widens

UAL Corp, parent of United Airlines, on Monday said its first-quarter loss increased by 1.3 percent as the company grappled with record high fuel prices. But the No 2 US airline said that with the inclusion of special reorganisation items, it had a $23 billion profit. In past quarters, one-time reorganisation items accounted for staggering quarterly losses.
UAL, which exited bankruptcy on February 1, said its loss, excluding the reorganisation benefits, for the full quarter widened to $306 million from $302 million a year earlier.
The company did not provide results on a per share basis for the full quarter because it issued fresh shares on Nasdaq when it emerged from bankruptcy. The company reported a loss of $1.95 per share in the two months ended March 31.
Wall Street analysts had a average forecast for a loss of $1.73 per share, according to Reuters Estimates.
"The big question mark obviously remains the fuel. This is still a painfully large loss for the quarter," said Chris Lozier, equity analyst at Morningstar.
The company said its emergence from bankruptcy resulted in a new reporting entity and that its first-quarter results before February 1 combined with those after February 1 do not necessarily provide comparable data to previous quarters.
The company said that including primarily noncash reorganisation gains, it earned $23 billion in the first quarter. That profit is due to the "discharge of liabilities" as the company exited bankruptcy, UAL said.
The discharge of liabilities relates to unsecured claims arising from the bankruptcy process, such as the termination of the company's defined benefit pension plans and aircraft-related claims.
The airline said its total revenue increased by 14 percent to $4.47 billion. UAL ended the quarter with an unrestricted cash balance of $3.6 billion.
"The improved revenue environment essentially compensated for record high fuel expense," UAL's Chief Financial Officer Jake Brace said in a statement.
UAL's fuel price for the first quarter averaged $1.95 per gallon, compared with $1.47 per gallon a year earlier. The airline said it saw about $9 million in benefits from hedging.