Delta’s gains after profit and sales beat expectations
Shares of Delta Air Lines Inc. rose 0.6% in premarket trade Thursday, after the air carrier beat first-quarter profit and sales expectations, but provided a somewhat downbeat revenue growth outlook for the year. Net income was $547 million, or 77 cents a share, compared with $561 million, or 77 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to 74 cents, above the FactSet consensus of 73 cents. Total revenue rose to $8.97 billion from $9.10 billion, beating the FactSet consensus of $9.89 billion, as passenger and cargo revenue rose above expectations. Load factor was 82.9%, flat with a year ago, and just shy of the FactSet consensus of 83.0%. For the second quarter, Delta expects EPS of $1.80 to $2.00, surrounding the FactSet consensus of $1.92. “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,” said President Glen Hauenstein. The FactSet 2018 revenue consensus of $43.75 billion implies 6.1% growth over 2017 revenue of $41.24 billion. The stock has tumbled 14.0% over the past three months through Wednesday, while the NYSE Arca Airline Index has shed 9.4% and the S&P 500 has lost 5.2%.
Source : MTV
