Delta Air Lines (DAL) Tops Q3 EPS by 3c
Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) reported Q3 EPS of $1.74, $0.03 better than the analyst estimate of $1.71. Revenue for the quarter came in at $11.1 billion versus the consensus estimate of $11.12 billion.
"Despite currency volatility and global economic uncertainty which drove a modest decline in revenues, we expanded operating margins by over five points to 21%, grew earnings per share by 45%, and generated $1.4 billion of free cash flow in the September quarter as demand remains solid and fuel prices have dropped materially. We expect that strong performance to continue in the December quarter with operating margins of 16 to 18% and over 40% earnings per share growth," said Richard Anderson, Delta's chief executive officer. "It's an honor to recognize the hard work of 80,000 outstanding Delta employees with over $1 billion of profit sharing accrued so far this year. Our team consistently delivers best-in-class operations and service to our customers, develops innovative solutions with our global partners, and produces strong returns for our shareholders."
Increase (Decrease) | ||||||||
3Q15 versus 3Q14 | ||||||||
Change | Unit | |||||||
Passenger Revenue | 3Q15 ($M) | YoY | Revenue | Yield | Capacity | |||
Mainline | 4,774 | 3.8 % | (2.3) % | (2.5) % | 6.3 % | |||
Regional | 1,536 | (5.9) % | (2.3) % | (4.3) % | (3.7) % | |||
Total Domestic | 6,310 | 1.3 % | (3.0) % | (3.6) % | 4.4 % | |||
Atlantic | 1,816 | (5.6) % | (9.5) % | (7.8) % | 4.3 % | |||
Pacific | 887 | (12.7) % | (9.3) % | (13.1) % | (3.7) % | |||
Latin America | 582 | (3.8) % | (5.3) % | (6.3) % | 1.6 % | |||
Total Passenger | 9,595 | (1.9) % | (4.9) % | (5.4) % | 3.2 % | |||
Cargo Revenue | 196 | (19.7) % | ||||||
Other Revenue | 1,316 | 13.6 % | ||||||
Total Revenue | 11,107 | (0.6) % | ||||||
December 2015 Quarter GuidanceFollowing are Delta's projections for the December 2015 quarter:
4Q15 Forecast | |||
Passenger unit revenue (compared to 4Q14) | (2.5%) - (4.5%) | ||
Operating margin | 16% - 18% | ||
Fuel price, including taxes, settled hedges and refinery impact | $1.75-$1.80 | ||
CASM - Ex (compared to 4Q14) | Up ~2% | ||
System capacity (compared to 4Q14) | Flat |
For earnings history and earnings-related data on Delta Air Lines (DAL) click here.