DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
AMR Corp.'s (AMR) second-quarter loss narrowed amid prior-year
write-downs as the American Airlines parent saw a key measure of
revenue fall amid less-full planes.
Shares were recently up 5.7% at $4.41 in premarket trading as
the loss was narrower than analysts expected. The stock is off 5.6%
in the last month through Tuesday's close, but is off 61% so far
this year.
Other airlines have reported planes have been more full in
recent months as carriers cut capacity, and some airlines recently
raised fares across parts of their domestic networks amid signs the
travel market was stabilizing. But many are still seeing a slump in
business and leisure demand, and Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV)
earlier this month sparked a fare war when it offered one-way
flights for as low as $30.
AMR posted a loss of $390 million, or $1.39 a share, compared
with a year-earlier loss of $1.46 billion, or $5.83 a share.
Excluding charges related to aircraft disposals and other items,
the loss narrowed to $1.14 per share vs $1.19 in the year ago
period.
Revenue decreased 21% to $4.89 billion.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected a loss of $1.29 a
share on revenue of $4.91 billion.
AMR's fuel bill slumped from a year ago as per-gallon fuel
prices slid 41%.
Load factor, or the percentage of available seats filled, fell
to 81.8% from 82.5% for American Airlines as capacity cuts couldn't
catch up to falling demand. Revenue per available seat mile -
considered the best measure of revenue for airlines - fell 16%, in
line with its earlier estimate.
AMR said last month it would cut systemwide capacity by about
7.5% this year, about one percentage point more than it had said
earlier.
It said Wednesday that third-quarter capacity should be down
8.5% and average fuel price at $2.05 a gallon. One-third of
expected fuel consumption for the period has been hedged.
-By Kerry Grace Benn, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2353;
kerry.benn@dowjones.com