Jsled, I'm not trying to flame. I want to see United do great.
I was curious about debt loads from this thread and I'm posting an ariticle from 1/06 and one from 07. I think one reporter is incredibly biased, but I'm posting it for the numbers only. I know a lot can happen in a year ...
.................................................. .........................
United is swimming in debt. United will exit bankruptcy saddled with about $17 billion in debt. It expects to issue about 125 million new shares under the ticker symbol UAUA. While some observers predict the stock will quickly trade higher, the opening price is likely to be about $15 a share. That gives United an equity value just shy of $2 billion and a debt-to-equity ratio of about 8.5-to-1. By comparison, American Airlines' debt ratio is deemed much too high at about 6-to-1.
• United is mortgaged to the hilt. United made public relations hay this week with its announcement that it quickly secured $3 billion in exit financing. What it didn't mention was that the loan was secured with just about every asset that United owns: fleet; spare parts; Atlantic and Pacific routes; corporate headquarters building; flight simulators; accounts receivable; and even the Mileage Plus frequent-flier program.
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/colum...ncatelli_x.htm
http://finance.google.com/finance?q=UAUA
.................................................. .....................
HEAVY DEBT. On the negative side, we're concerned that the board can change the number of authorized shares without shareholder approval, and that the board may amend the corporate bylaws without shareholder approval.
There are risks to our recommendation and target price. We consider the shares to be very volatile and high risk for several reasons. First, oil prices have risen dramatically and may continue to rise, which is offsetting a lot of other cost cuts at the company.
In addition, AMR has a very high debt load of about $20 billion (including operating leases) and an underfunded pension plan, both of which are likely to be a drain on cash resources over the next few years. The net pension obligation at the end of 2005 exceeded the fair value of the assets in the plan by about $3.2 billion. AMR is attempting to get its debt level down, but this won't be an easy task, in our opinion.
http://www.businessweek.com/investor...612_815502.htm
http://finance.google.com/finance?q=AMR
.................................................. .................................
http://finance.google.com/finance?q=DALRQ
For effect, I rode the short bus.
Tom