TWA Loses $123 Million in Quarter

Trans World Airlines said Friday that it had an after-tax loss of $123.4 million in the fourth quarter of 1985 as competition among air carriers intensified.

Carl C. Icahn, TWA’s new chairman, said that besides the negative impact from the air fare discounts that TWA and other airlines used to lure passengers, TWA’s financial health was impaired by high labor costs and the weakening dollar.

The fourth-quarter loss was wider than the $29.4-million deficit that TWA had in the final three months of 1984.

For all of last year, TWA reported a net loss of $132.6 million. That didn’t include one-time expenses of $60.5 million due mainly to acquisition activities and staff cutbacks. Including those expenses, TWA’s 1985 loss amounted to $193.1 million, compared to a $29.9-million net profit in 1984.

TWA’s operating revenue in the fourth quarter totaled $839 million, up $4.9 million from the same quarter in 1984. Operating expenses were $930.5 million, an increase of $77.2 million from the fourth 1984 quarter.

During all of last year, TWA’s operating revenue came to $3.73 billion, up $200.4 million from 1984. In 1985, operating expenses increased $339.9 million from 1984 to $3.79 billion.