United Continental Holdings reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $190 million, excluding special charges, and a net loss of $620 million including all items.
Southwest Airlines posted fourth-quarter net income of $78 million, and Alaska Air Group reported net income of $44 million.
United Continental said Hurricane Sandy reduced quarterly revenue by about $140 million and profit by about $85 million.
Total passenger revenue slipped 3.6% to $7.5 billion, while average passenger fare edged up 0.5% to $271.
For full-year 2012, United Continental posted net income of $589 million, excluding $1.3 billion in special charges and including $739 million in costs related to the United-Continental integration. Total 2012 passenger revenue for the year rose marginally to $32.6 billion.
According to chief revenue officer Jim Compton, "While we didn't meet our revenue goals in 2012, we have addressed the integration issues that drove our underperformance."
Excluding one-time items, Southwest’s net result was a $65 million profit, about even with the year-earlier period. The company also claimed a fourth-quarter record for operating revenues at $4.2 billion, "driven by record yields, continued high load factors and an impressive freight revenue performance," according to CEO Gary Kelly. "These strong revenues were achieved despite the transitional state of the AirTran route network."
The airline's fourth-quarter average passenger fare rose 5.4% to $148.
Southwest's full-year 2012 net income, excluding one-time items, jumped to $417 million from $330 million in 2011 and marked the company's "40th consecutive year of profitability." Passenger revenue for the year increased by 9% to $16.1 billion. Kelly added that first-quarter bookings "thus far are strong."
Alaska Air Group’s $44 million net profit was down from $64 million for the 2011 December quarter. Total passenger revenue grew 9%, with traffic up nearly 9% and passenger yield, a representation of fare per mile, flat.
The group includes Alaska Airlines and regional carrier Horizon Air.
Source: Business Travel News