Delta Air Lines Announces March Quarter Profit

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Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) today reported financial results for the March quarter 2018. Highlights of those results, including both GAAP and adjusted metrics, are below and incorporated here.To get more delta 582, you can visit shine news official website.

Adjusted pre-tax income for the March 2018 quarter was $676 million, a $104 million decrease from the March 2017 quarter, as record revenues were offset by higher fuel prices and other increased costs including a $44 million impact from severe winter weather.

"The Delta people delivered a strong March quarter, and our record revenue was a direct result of the great service and operational reliability they provided for our customers. It's an honor to recognize their hard work with $183 million toward our 2018 profit sharing," said Ed Bastian, Delta's Chief Executive Officer. "We have confidence in our plan to grow earnings in 2018 through top-line growth, improving our cost trajectory, and leveraging our international partnerships."

Revenue Environment

Delta's adjusted operating revenue of $9.8 billion for the March quarter improved 8 percent, or $715 million versus the prior year. This revenue result marks a March quarter record for the company, and was driven by improvements across Delta's business, including a 23 percent increase in cargo revenue and a $78 million increase in total loyalty revenue. Delta's Branded Fares initiative drove $421 million in premium upsell revenue in the period, a 23 percent increase from the prior year.

Total unit revenues excluding refinery sales (TRASM) increased 5.0 percent during the period, with foreign currency contributing just over 0.5 points of benefit. This marks the fourth consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth, with all geographic regions delivering positive results.

"We are seeing Delta's best revenue momentum since 2014, with positive domestic unit revenues, improvements in all our international entities, strong demand for corporate travel and double-digit increases in our loyalty revenues," said Glen Hauenstein, Delta's President. "With our solid pipeline of commercial initiatives, delivered with industry-leading Delta service, we expect to maintain this momentum and deliver total revenue growth of 4 to 6 percent for the full year."
For the June quarter, Delta expects solid top-line growth and an improving cost trajectory will mitigate the impact of higher fuel prices. The company will also benefit from a reduction in its book tax rate.
Delta generated $1.3 billion of operating cash flow, as the seasonal build of cash was partially offset by the $1.1 billion profit sharing payment to employees and a $500 million voluntary pension contribution in the March quarter, completing funding for the full year. Delta generated $173 million of free cash flow during the quarter, after the investment of $1.2 billion into the business primarily for aircraft purchases and improvements.

For the March quarter, Delta returned $542 million to shareholders, comprised of $325 million of share repurchases and $217 million in dividends.