TWA, UAL and PSA Quarterly Results Mixed

Trans World Airlines reported a loss, United Airlines said earnings were down and PSA reported a 210% increase in profits for the third quarter Monday.

TWA, in reporting a $13.5-million third-quarter loss, cited a $42.9-million charge for terminating a merger pact with Texas Air Corp., fare discounts and lower volume partly due to passenger concerns about international air piracy.

UAL Inc., parent company of United Airlines, said the lingering aftereffects of a pilots’ strike against United Airlines pared income in the third quarter at the nation’s largest domestic carrier.

San Diego-based PSA Inc. reported that its third-quarter net income increased to $9.1 million, while its revenue rose 10% to $204 million. It said results were bolstered by aircraft leasing and energy-related operations that offset a lackluster performance by its airline subsidiary.

Revenue during September “deteriorated” at the San Diego-based company’s airline subsidiary following “improved results” in July and August, according to a PSA spokesman. He linked the slowdown to a “backlash (against) recent air crashes” and an ongoing fare war in the California corridor between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

New York-based TWA said its loss compared to a profit of $91.2 million in the third quarter of 1984. Revenue totaled $1.08 billion, a 1.8% increase over the comparable period last year.

A TWA statement said earnings were “negatively affected” by the charge for annulling the Texas Air merger prior to financier Carl C. Icahn’s takeover of the carrier in August.

Chicago-based UAL said it earned $22.2 million on revenue of $1.7 billion in the third quarter. A year earlier, it earned $66.7 million on revenue of $1.8 billion.

UAL owns United Airlines, Westin Hotels and in August acquired Hertz, the nation’s largest car rental agency.

The corporation said net earnings by its airline division were $811,000 in its third quarter, down from $62 million a year earlier.

UAL’s Westin Hotels posted better results, with income of $3.9 million, up from $3.7 million a year earlier.

The quarterly results included one month’s operations by the Hertz division.

PSA reported that its aircraft leasing business benefited from a $3.5-million tax credit and that a pension plan change boosted the parent company’s net income by $3.2 million.

During the first half of the year, PSA’s airline operation earmarked $2.3 million for an employee profit-sharing plan. However, $200,000 was withdrawn from the profit-sharing fund because of the slow third quarter.