CHICAGO, Oct. 24, 2013 /PRNewswire/ United Airlines (UAL) today reported third-quarter 2013 net income of $590 million, an increase of 13.5 percent year-over-year, or $1.51 per diluted share, excluding $211 million of special charges. Including special charges, UAL reported third-quarter 2013 net income of $379 million, or $0.98 per diluted share.
"We have significantly improved ouroperations, customer service and product, and are now competitive on all those dimensions. I want to thank my co-workers as we work together to deliver on our promise of making United flyer friendly," said Jeff Smisek, chairman, president and chief executive officer. "However, weare notsatisfied with our financial performance, and are taking prompt actions toincrease our revenue and operate more efficiently across the company."
Third-Quarter Revenue and Capacity
For the third quarter, total revenue was $10.2 billion, an increase of 3.2 percent compared to the same period in 2012. Third-quarter consolidated passenger revenue increased 1.6 percent year-over-year to $8.9 billion, on a consolidated capacity decrease of 1.1 percent year-over-year. Other revenue in the third quarter increased 25.0 percent year-over-year to $1.1 billion and third-quarter cargo revenue decreased 19.1 percent versus the third quarter of 2012 to $199 million.
Consolidated revenue passenger miles (RPMs) decreased 0.3 percent on a consolidated capacity decrease of 1.1 percent year-over-year, resulting in a consolidated load factor of 85.9 percent in the third quarter.
Third-quarter consolidated PRASM increased 2.7 percent compared to the same period in 2012. Consolidated yield for the third quarter increased 1.9 percent year-over-year.
"This quartermy co-workersconsistently delivered solid operational performance, and our customersatisfactionscores continue to rise,"said Jim Compton, UAL's vice chairman and chief revenue officer."We are, however, disappointedby the pace of our revenue improvements, and we are taking numerous actionsto improveour performance to more swiftly realizeour full revenue potential."
Third-quarter passenger revenue and period-to-period comparisons of related statistics for UAL's mainline and regional operations are as follows:
|
|
3Q 2013 Passenger |
Passenger |
PRASM vs. |
Yield vs. |
Available Seat | |||||||||
|
Domestic |
$3,339 |
0.4% |
2.9% |
2.3% |
(2.4%) | |||||||||
|
Atlantic |
1,765 |
11.0% |
9.0% |
5.6% |
1.9% | |||||||||
|
Pacific |
1,289 |
(11.0%) |
(9.4%) |
(8.4%) |
(1.7%) | |||||||||
|
Latin America |
632 |
0.6% |
0.5% |
1.2% |
0.2% | |||||||||
|
International |
3,686 |
0.5% |
0.2% |
(0.7%) |
0.3% | |||||||||
|
Mainline |
7,025 |
0.5% |
1.6% |
0.8% |
(1.1%) | |||||||||
|
Regional |
1,893 |
6.3% |
7.1% |
6.1% |
(0.8%) | |||||||||
|
Consolidated |
$8,918 |
1.6% |
2.7% |
1.9% |
(1.1%) | |||||||||
Third-Quarter Costs
Total operating expenses increased $11 million, or 0.1 percent, in the third quarter versus the same period in 2012. Excluding special charges, third-quarter total operating expenses increased $314 million, or 3.4 percent, year-over-year.
Third-quarter consolidated CASM increased 1.2 percent year-over-year. Third-quarter consolidated CASM, excluding special charges and third-party business expense, increased 2.9 percent compared to third-quarter 2012. Third-party business expense was $205 million in the third quarter of 2013.
In the third quarter, consolidated CASM, excluding special charges and third-party business expense and holding fuel rate and profit sharing constant, increased 3.6 percent compared to the third quarter of 2012.
"We are committed to operating more efficiently across all aspects of our business," said John Rainey, UAL's executive vice president and chief financial officer. "We continue to improve our balance sheet and to make return-driven investments in our business, both of which are critical to creating long-term economic value for our stakeholders."
Liquidity and Cash Flow
UAL ended the third quarter with $6.7 billion in unrestricted liquidity, including $1.0 billion of undrawn commitments under its revolving credit facility. During the third quarter, UAL generated $237 million of operating cash flow. The company's gross capital expenditures and purchase deposits for the quarter were $598 million, and the company made debt and capital lease principal payments of $253 million in the third quarter.
Third-Quarter 2013 Accomplishments
Operations, Co-workers and Customer Service
Network, Fleet and Sustainability
Product, Loyalty Program and Facilities
About United
United Airlines and United Express operate an average of more than 5,300 flights a day to more than 360 airports across six continents. In 2012, United and United Express carried more passenger traffic than any other airline in the world and operated nearly two million flights carrying 140 million customers. United is investing in upgrading its onboard products and now offers more flat-bed seats in its premium cabins and more extra-legroom, economy-class seating than any airline in North America. In 2013, United became the first U.S.-based international carrier to offer satellite-based Wi-Fi on long-haul overseas routes. The airline also features DIRECTV on more than 200 aircraft, offering customers more live television access than any other airline in the world. United operates nearly 700 mainline aircraft and has made large-scale investments in its fleet. In 2013, United continues to modernize its fleet by taking delivery of more than two dozen new Boeing aircraft. The company will have launched 14 new international and 19 new domestic routes, including the addition of seven new cities to its network, by the end of 2013.Business Traveler magazine awarded United Best Airline for North American Travel for 2012, and readers of Global Traveler magazine have voted United's MileagePlus program the best frequent flyer program for nine consecutive years. According to the 4 th annual Switchfly Reward Seat Availability Survey published by IdeaWorksCompany in May 2013, United has the most saver-style award-seat availability among the largest U.S. global airlines. Air Transport World named United as the Eco-Aviation Airline of the Year Gold Winner in 2013. United is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides service to 195 countries via 28 member airlines. More than 85,000 United employees reside in every U.S. state and in countries around the world.For more information, visit united.com or follow United on Twitter and Facebook. The common stock of United's parent, United Continental Holdings, Inc., is traded on the NYSE under the symbol UAL.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Certain statements included in this release are forward-looking and thus reflect our current expectations and beliefs with respect to certain current and future events and financial performance. Such forward-looking statements are and will be subject to many risks and uncertainties relating to our operations and business environment that may cause actual results to differ materially from any future results expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Words such as "expects," "will," "plans," "anticipates," "indicates," "believes," "forecast," "guidance," "outlook" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Additionally, forward-looking statements include statements that do not relate solely to historical facts, such as statements which identify uncertainties or trends, discuss the possible future effects of current known trends or uncertainties or which indicate that the future effects of known trends or uncertainties cannot be predicted, guaranteed or assured. All forward-looking statements in this report are based upon information available to us on the date of this report. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. Our actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements due to numerous factors including, without limitation, the following: our ability to comply with the terms of our various financing arrangements; the costs and availability of financing; our ability to maintain adequate liquidity; our ability to execute our operational plans, including optimizing our revenue; our ability to control our costs, including realizing benefits from our resource optimization efforts, cost reduction initiatives and fleet replacement programs; our ability to utilize our net operating losses; our ability to attract and retain customers; demand for transportation in the markets in which we operate; an outbreak of a disease that affects travel demand or travel behavior; demand for travel and the impact that global economic conditions have on customer travel patterns; excessive taxation and the inability to offset future taxable income; general economic conditions (including interest rates, foreign currency exchange rates, investment or credit market conditions, crude oil prices, costs of aircraft fuel and energy refining capacity in relevant markets); our ability to cost-effectively hedge against increases in the price of aircraft fuel; any potential realized or unrealized gains or losses related to fuel or currency hedging programs; the effects of any hostilities, act of war or terrorist attack; the ability of other air carriers with whom we have alliances or partnerships to provide the services contemplated by the respective arrangements with such carriers; the costs and availability of aviation and other insurance; industry consolidation or changes in airline alliances; competitive pressures on pricing and on demand; our capacity decisions and the capacity decisions of our competitors; U.S. or foreign governmental legislation, regulation and other actions (including open skies agreements and environmental regulations); labor costs; our ability to maintain satisfactory labor relations and the results of the collective bargaining agreement process with our union groups; any disruptions to operations due to any potential actions by our labor groups; weather conditions; the possibility that expected merger synergies will not be realized or will not be realized within the expected time period; and other risks and uncertainties set forth under Item 1A, Risk Factors, of UAL's Annual Report on Form 10-K, as well as other risks and uncertainties set forth from time to time in the reports we file with the SEC.
-tables attached-
|
UNITED CONTINENTAL HOLDINGS, INC. | ||||||||||||
|
STATEMENTS OF CONSOLIDATED OPERATIONS (UNAUDITED) | ||||||||||||
|
Three Months Ended |
Nine Months Ended |
|||||||||||
|
September 30, |
% |
September 30, |
% | |||||||||
|
(In millions, except per share data) |
2013 |
2012 |
Increase/ (Decrease) |
2013 |
2012 |
Increase/ (Decrease) | ||||||
|
Operating revenue: |
||||||||||||
|
Passenger: |
||||||||||||
|
Mainline |
$7,025 |
$6,993 |
0.5 |
$19,792 |
$19,891 |
(0.5) | ||||||
|
Regional |
1,893 |
1,781 |
6.3 |
5,353 |
5,159 |
3.8 | ||||||
|
Total passenger revenue |
8,918 |
8,774 |
1.6 |
25,145 |
25,050 |
0.4 | ||||||
|
Cargo |
199 |
246 |
(19.1) |
662 |
775 |
(14.6) | ||||||
|
Other |
1,111 |
889 |
25.0 |
3,143 |
2,625 |
19.7 | ||||||
|
Total operating revenue |
10,228 |
9,909 |
3.2 |
28,950 |
28,450 |
1.8 | ||||||
|
Operating expenses: |
||||||||||||
|
Aircraft fuel (A) |
3,262 |
3,406 |
(4.2) |
9,380 |
10,043 |
(6.6) | ||||||
|
Salaries and related costs |
2,209 |
2,038 |
8.4 |
6,511 |
5,959 |
9.3 | ||||||
|
Regional capacity purchase (B) |
621 |
628 |
(1.1) |
1,837 |
1,887 |
(2.6) | ||||||
|
Landing fees and other rent |
540 |
504 |
7.1 |
1,544 |
1,476 |
4.6 | ||||||
|
Aircraft maintenance materials and outside repairs |
472 |
469 |
0.6 |
1,390 |
1,308 |
6.3 | ||||||
|
Depreciation and amortization |
435 |
379 |
14.8 |
1,268 |
1,137 |
11.5 | ||||||
|
Distribution expenses |
377 |
356 |
5.9 |
1,052 |
1,038 |
1.3 | ||||||
|
Aircraft rent |
231 |
245 |
(5.7) |
706 |
747 |
(5.5) | ||||||
|
Special charges (C) |
211 |
514 |
NM |
355 |
884 |
NM | ||||||
|
Other operating expenses |
1,362 |
1,170 |
16.4 |
3,893 |
3,467 |
12.3 | ||||||
|
Total operating expenses |
9,720 |
9,709 |
0.1 |
27,936 |
27,946 |
- | ||||||
|
Operating income |
508 |
200 |
154.0 |
1,014 |
504 |
101.2 | ||||||
|
Nonoperating income (expense): |
||||||||||||
|
Interest expense |
(195) |
(202) |
(3.5) |
(590) |
(631) |
(6.5) | ||||||
|
Interest capitalized |
12 |
9 |
33.3 |
35 |
26 |
34.6 | ||||||
|
Interest income |
5 |
4 |
25.0 |
16 |
16 |
- | ||||||
|
Miscellaneous, net |
52 |
4 |
NM |
(48) |
(7) |
NM | ||||||
|
Total nonoperating expense |
(126) |
(185) |
(31.9) |
(587) |
(596) |
(1.5) | ||||||
|
Income (loss) before income taxes |
382 |
15 |
NM |
427 |
(92) |
NM | ||||||
|
Income tax expense (benefit) (D) |
3 |
9 |
(66.7) |
(4) |
11 |
NM | ||||||
|
Net Income (loss) |
$379 |
$6 |
NM |
$431 |
$(103) |
NM | ||||||
|
Earnings (loss) per share, basic |
$1.06 |
$0.02 |
NM |
$1.25 |
$(0.31) |
NM | ||||||
|
Earnings (loss) per share, diluted |
$0.98 |
$0.02 |
NM |
$1.15 |
$(0.31) |
NM | ||||||
|
Weighted average shares, basic |
357 |
331 |
7.9 |
343 |
331 |
3.6 | ||||||
|
Weighted average shares, diluted |
395 |
332 |
19.0 |
390 |
331 |
17.8 | ||||||
|
NM Not meaningful |
||||||||||||