United Airlines Holdings Inc. published the fourth consecutive quarter of losses late on Wednesday, saying it expects its capacity to decline by at least 51% in the current quarter.
United UAL,
said it lost $ 1.9 billion, or $ 6.39 per share, in the fourth quarter, in contrast to earnings of $ 2.53 per share in the quarter last year. Operating income fell to $ 3.41 billion from $ 10.9 billion a year ago.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected United to report a GAAP loss of $ 6.13 per share on sales of $ 3.42 billion. United shares fell 0.8% in the extended session on Wednesday, after ending the regular trading day by 1%.
United said it expects total operating income in the first quarter of 2021 to fall by 65% to 70%. An “accelerated” distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine could lead to a faster improvement, he said, but the company does not rely on this potential improvement in its revenue prospects in the first quarter.
It was the airline’s fourth consecutive quarterly loss as pandemic travel restrictions and concerns about air travel and virus transmission reduced its business, including more profitable business travel and transatlantic flights.
2021 will be “a year of transition focused on preparing for a recovery,” the company said in a statement.
“Since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, United has raised more than $ 26 billion in cash and made significant progress in reducing basic fund consumption,” and also identified $ 1.4 billion in annual cost savings and has a way to achieve at least $ 2 billion in structural cuts is advancing, he said.
The stock has lost about 50% in the last 12 months, in contrast to the gains of about 16% for the S&P 500 SPX,