Delta reports first-quarter profit on higher revenue

April 23, 2013

Delta today reported a profit for the first quarter of 2013, its strongest financial and operational performance for that period in more than a decade.

Delta’s net profit for the quarter, excluding special items, was $85 million, an improvement of $124 million over last year’s results. The results included $20 million of Profit Sharing in recognition of Delta employees’ contributions to the company’s financial performance.

“Our results represent Delta’s strongest March quarter financial and operational performance in over a decade and I want to thank Delta people worldwide for all the hard work that went into producing these results for our company,” Richard said in a press release.

“This performance is proof that we are on the right path to making Delta the airline of choice for our shareholders, employees, and customers,” he continued. “With a solid financial foundation and building momentum from initiatives like our LaGuardia expansion, Virgin Atlantic investment and new Terminal 4 at New York-JFK, we are well positioned to generate significant improvements in Delta’s profitability going forward.”

Delta’s operating revenue grew $87 million, or 1 percent, during the quarter compared with a year earlier, while load factors increased to 81.2 percent. Passenger unit revenue increased 4.1 percent despite a slight decline, about 0.6 percent, in traffic with a 2.5 percent decrease in capacity.

Delta continued its focus on reducing debt during the quarter, and ended the period with adjusted net debt of $11 billion.

Unit costs during the quarter rose about 5 percent excluding fuel, profit-sharing and special items. That was less than expected, due to the benefits of cost-saving initiatives.

And fuel expenses declined $80 million during the quarter compared with a year earlier as a result of lower prices and a reduction in consumption.*