UAL, Continental, Delta Report Losses

Three of the nation’s major airlines on Thursday reported losing hundreds of millions of dollars in the final three months of 1992, and industry leaders braced for continued troubles.

UAL Corp. Chairman Stephen Wolf called his company’s results unacceptable. Delta Air Lines Chairman Ron Allen said that revenue was lower than expected for the quarter and that traffic was still soft.

Continental’s chairman said the company was ready to take further steps this year to turn its losses around.

Most of the industry has been reeling from the combination of a weak economy and widespread discount fare promotions. The October-December and January-March quarters are historically the slowest time of year for airlines.

UAL Corp., parent company of the nation’s second-largest airline, reported a fourth-quarter loss of $224 million, or $9.27 a share, on revenue of $3.2 billion. In the same period a year earlier, the company lost $253 million, or $10.69 a share, on revenue of $2.9 billion.

The year-ago results included $130 million in one-time, pretax charges.

Chicago-based UAL also said it has cut 10 of its 50 corporate officers as part of a previously announced program to eliminate 2,800 jobs. A restructuring charge of $25 million related to the layoffs was recorded in the fourth quarter, UAL said.

“Unacceptable is the only way to describe our fourth-quarter and full-year results,” Wolf said in a news release.

Excluding the fourth quarter’s pretax charges and expenses, the loss for the quarter was $184 million, or $7.63 a share, UAL said.

For the full year, UAL reported a loss of $957 million, or $39.75 a share, including the $540-million, one-time effect of a change in the method of accounting for retiree benefits.

That compares to a loss of $331.9 million, or $14.31 per share, for all of 1991.

UAL’s 1992 revenue rose 10.3% to $12.9 billion from $11.7 billion in 1991.

The company’s stock fell $3.25 per share Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange to $122.25.

Delta Air Lines Inc., the No. 3 carrier, lost $126.3 million, or $3.04 per share, in the final three months of 1992, a smaller loss than it reported a year earlier.

The October-December loss compared to $187.6 million, or $3.89 per share, in the same period in 1991, the second quarter in Delta’s fiscal year. Revenue in the quarter was $2.9 billion, compared to $2.6 billion a year earlier.

Delta, like most other large airlines, has been hit by the combined effects of the recession and widespread discount fare promotions.

Allen said in a news conference that while revenue was below expectations, the company’s costs fell more than expected.

For the calendar year, Delta lost $564.8 million, or $12.56 a share, compared to $239.5 million, or $5.44 a share, in 1991. Revenue rose to $11.6 billion from $10 billion in 1991.

Delta’s stock finished 12.5 cents lower at $51 per share Thursday on the NYSE.

Continental Airlines Holdings Inc., the Houston-based parent of Continental Airlines, lost $14 million, or 30 cents per share, on revenue of $1.35 billion in the fourth quarter. In the same period a year ago, the company earned $4.4 million, or 3 cents per share, on revenue of $1.38 billion.

Continental, one of three major carriers operating under bankruptcy protection, said the loss came despite one-time gains from a settlement with the federal agency that guarantees pensions and reversals of some guarantees it had made before its bankruptcy filing.

For the full year, Continental lost $125.3 million, or $2.70 per share, on revenue of $5.58 billion. In 1991, the company lost $305.7 million, or $6.74 per share, on revenue of $5.55 billion.