A statement issued with the company's earnings release did not update investors on the status of merger talks between Delta and Northwest Airlines and United Airlines. Delta has said previously that its board is considering strategic options, including a possible consolidation transaction. The airline has not elaborated.
For the three months ending Dec. 31, Atlanta-based Delta said it lost $70 million, or 18 cents a share, compared to a loss of $1.98 billion for the same period a year earlier. The airline did not provide a per share figure for the prior year, when it was in bankruptcy.
Excluding reorganization items, Delta said it lost $105 million in the fourth quarter. It did not provide a comparable per-share figure.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial were expecting a Delta loss of 18 cents a share. Analyst estimates generally exclude one-time items, so it wasn't immediately clear if Delta met or missed expectations.
Revenue in the fourth quarter rose 10 percent to $4.68 billion, compared to $4.25 billion recorded a year earlier.
For all of 2007, Delta said it earned $1.61 billion, compared to a loss of $6.20 billion for all of 2006. It did not provide per-share figures. Full-year revenue rose to $19.15 billion, compared to $17.53 billion recorded a year earlier.
Going forward, Delta said it expects operating margins of minus 2 percent to minus 4 percent in the first quarter of this year. For all of 2008, it expects operating margins of 4 percent to 6 percent. It expects to see its domestic capacity drop 2 percent to 3 percent in the first quarter, while its international capacity is expected to increase 10 percent to 12 percent in the first quarter compared to a year earlier.
On the Net:
Delta Air Lines: http://www.delta.com
http://accesswdun.com/article/2008/1/206099