Join Q1 2019 earnings
Delta Air Lines generated record revenues and earned first-quarter earnings on Wednesday that beat Wall Street's expectations of both profits and revenues.
" Demand for Delta's product has never been stronger, "said President Glen Hauenstein in a statement on earnings. "With our customer-focused commercial initiatives providing strong customer loyalty and top-line momentum, we now expect a full-year revenue growth of five to seven percent, an increase from our previous guidance."
Its shares rose by nearly 3 percent in premarket trading.
The Atlanta-based carrier achieved 96 cents a share on an adjusted basis compared to an average of 90 cents expected by analysts asked by Refinitiv.
That gave $ 1[ads1]0.47 billion in revenue, compared to $ 10.42 billion analysts. Revenue jumped 5.1 percent, up from $ 9.97 billion over the first three months of last year.
At an unadjusted b company profit, 31 percent jumped to $ 730 million, or $ 1.09 per share, up from $ 557 million or 79 cents per share over the same period last year.
Investors were expecting a strong quarter from Delta, especially after increasing its earnings and revenue guidance last week, referring to healthy demand that helped record record performance.
It assumes an even stronger second quarter, telling investors that earnings per share will fall between $ 2.05 and $ 2.35, and total revenues will rise by 6% to 8% over the same quarter last year . It expects to increase aircraft capacity by 4% to 4.5% year-on-year.
Delta's revenue per available seating environment, a key industry metric of how much airlines charge for each seat they fly a mile, rose 2.4% in the first three months of 2019, compared to the same period last year. The Atlanta-based carrier says it expects this figure to rise between 1.5% and 3.5% in the second quarter of this year.
Delta also said that the contract renewal with American Express helped drive sales in the first quarter. The partnership, which focuses on SkyMile's credit card, will run through 2029.
The airline has also escaped the fallout from Boeings 737 Max Long Term Grounding after two lethal crashes over five months killing a total of 346 people. Wall Street analysts recently downgraded Boeing and Southwest Airlines, and American Airlines cut first quarter revenue guidance and interrupted 1200 aircraft.
"Our heart goes out to everyone who is affected," said Delta CEO Ed Bastian on CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Wednesday morning. "This is not something we want to compete around. I am convinced that Boeing will come to the right answer for the repair and hope they get the product back in the sky as soon as possible."
Delta managers hold a conversation with analysts at 10.00 ET.
CORRECTION: This story was corrected to update who is holding a conversation with analysts Wednesday. There are Delta leaders.
