Delta Air Lines Inc, the US’ third-largest carrier, said yesterday its loss widened in the first quarter to a massive US$6.39 billion because of soaring fuel prices and the steep decline in the company’s market value.
The results badly missed Wall Street expectations, despite a 12 percent increase in sales.
The company said the loss is equivalent to US$16.15 a share. That compares with a loss of US$130 million that Delta reported in the first quarter last year, when it was still in bankruptcy.
Excluding special items, primarily a US$6.1 billion non-cash charge relating to the decline in Delta’s market value because of sustained record fuel prices, the airline lost US$274 million, or US$0.69 a share, in the first quarter.
EXPECTATIONS
Analysts were expecting a Delta loss of US$0.49 a share, excluding one-time items.
Revenue in the quarter rose to US$4.77 billion, compared with US$4.24 billion recorded in the same period a year ago. Delta shares rose US$0.10 in premarket trading to US$6.90, just off a 52-week low of US$6.70.
Delta said its first-quarter loss before special items was driven by a US$585 million year-over-year increase in the cost of fuel.
POST-BANKRUPTCY
Delta’s shares have fallen nearly 69 percent since the airline emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy on April 30 last year.
Gas and oil prices pushed further into record high territory on Tuesday, with retail gas reaching a US national average of US$3.51 for the first time and crude nearing US$120.
DOLLAR CHALLENGE: BRICS countries’ growing share of global GDP threatens the US dollar’s dominance, which some member states seek to displace for world trade US president-elect Donald Trump on Saturday threatened 100 percent tariffs against a bloc of nine nations if they act to undermine the US dollar. His threat was directed at countries in the so-called BRICS alliance, which consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Turkey, Azerbaijan and Malaysia have applied to become members and several other countries have expressed interest in joining. While the US dollar is by far the most-used currency in global business and has survived past challenges to its preeminence, members of the alliance and other developing nations say they are fed
LIMITED MEASURES: The proposed restrictions on Chinese chip exports are weaker than previously considered, following lobbying by major US firms, sources said US President Joe Biden’s administration is weighing additional curbs on sales of semiconductor equipment and artificial intelligence (AI) memory chips to China that would escalate the US crackdown on Beijing’s tech ambitions, but stop short of some stricter measures previously considered, said sources familiar with the matter. The restrictions could be unveiled as soon as next week, said the sources, who emphasized that the timing and contours of the rules have changed several times, and that nothing is final until they are published. The measures follow months of deliberations by US officials, negotiations with allies in Japan and the Netherlands, and
TECH COMPETITION: The US restricted sales of two dozen types of manufacturing equipment and three software tools, and blacklisted 140 more Chinese entities US President Joe Biden’s administration unveiled new restrictions on China’s access to vital components for chips and artificial intelligence (AI), escalating a campaign to contain Beijing’s technological ambitions. The US Department of Commerce slapped additional curbs on the sale of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and chipmaking gear, including that produced by US firms at foreign facilities. It also blacklisted 140 more Chinese entities that it accused of acting on Beijing’s behalf, although it did not name them in an initial statement. Full details on the new sanctions and Entity List additions were to be published later yesterday, a US official said. The US “will
Intel Corp chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger has retired from the company and stepped down from its board of directors just as the company is in the middle of trying to execute a turnaround plan. Intel chief financial officer David Zinsner and Intel Products CEO Michelle Johnston Holthaus are serving as interim co-CEOs while the board searches for Gelsinger’s replacement, the company said in a statement. Frank Yeary, independent chair of the board of Intel, is to serve as interim executive chair, the company said. Gelsinger’s departure is hitting at a tumultuous time for the US chipmaker. Once the industry leader in
RSS