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More fuel news
Delta, Northwest report combined $10.5B loss on fuel costs
Delta Air Lines Inc., the nation's third-largest carrier, said Wednesday its loss widened in the first quarter to a whopping $6.39 billion because of soaring fuel prices and the steep decline in the company's market value.
Northwest Airlines, which will be acquired by Delta to create the world's largest airline, reported a $4.1 billion loss in the first quarter.
Delta's results badly missed Wall Street expectations, despite a 12 percent increase in sales.
The Atlanta-based company said the loss is equivalent to $16.15 a share. That compares with a loss of $130 million that Delta reported in the January-March quarter a year
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ago, when it was still in bankruptcy.
Excluding special items, primarily a $6.1 billion non-cash charge relating to the decline in Delta's market value due to sustained record fuel prices, the airline lost $274 million, or 69 cents a share, in the first quarter.
In a memo to employees Wednesday, Ed Bastian, Delta's president and chief financial officer, said the airline expects some of its peers in the industry to record similar adjustments. A spokeswoman said Delta would have recorded the charge regardless of the tie-up with Northwest.
Analysts were expecting a Delta loss of 49 cents a share, excluding one-time items.
Revenue in the quarter rose to $4.77 billion, from $4.24 billion in the same period a year ago. Delta shares rose 9 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $6.89 in morning trading.
The company said its first-quarter loss before special items was driven by a $585 million year-over-year increase in the cost of fuel.
When it exited Chapter 11 protection, Delta projected its stock would be worth $9.4 billion to $12 billion in all, but that was assuming the price of crude would be at $70 per barrel.
Gas and oil prices pushed further into record high territory Tuesday, with crude nearing $120 a barrel. Retail gas reached a national average of $3.51 a gallon for the first time. Delta's current market value is roughly $2.7 billion, based on 395.6 million shares outstanding, which include shares not yet distributed to some creditors from its bankruptcy.
Delta announced last week that it would acquire Northwest Airlines Corp. in a stock-swap deal, which still must be approved by regulators and shareholders.
"Our need to respond to the pressures of dramatically rising fuel costs and a softening U.S. economy drove us to take a closer look at all options to protect Delta's future," Chief Executive Richard Anderson said in a statement. "The merger with Northwest will create an airline with the size, scale and global presence to weather economic downturns and compete long-term in the global marketplace."
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