http://blogs.barrons.com/stockstowa...ds-q2-beat-first-787-routes/?mod=yahoobarrons
CAL Rising: Tight Capacity Leads Q2 Beat; First 787 Routes
Shares of Continental Airlines (CAL) are up 61 cents, or 2.6%, at $23.89 after the company this morning met Q2 revenue estimates but beat on the bottom line.
Q2 revenue rose almost 19% to $3.708 billion, just slightly less than the average $3.711 billion estimate, while profit per share of $1.60 was 9 cents better than expected.
Operating expenses rose just 3%, allowing the company to swing to a $328 million pre-tax profit from a year-earlier $154 million loss.
Passenger revenue in the U.S. rose 11%, while trans-Atlantic fare revenue was up 23% and Pacific fares were up almost 40%. The company’s yield was up 17% as the load factor rose to 84.6%, up 1.9 percentage points. Capacity was held flat with the prior year, with available seat miles dipping 1.7% in the U.S. and 6% for trans-Atlantic flights
Higher freight volume drove cargo revenue up 35%, the company said.
Continental said it was the first airline in the world to announce routes for Boeing’s (BA) forthcoming “Dreamliner” 787 aircraft. The airline plans to fly nonstop to Auckland, New Zealand, and to Lagos, Nigeria, from Houston, starting in November of 2011.
CAL Rising: Tight Capacity Leads Q2 Beat; First 787 Routes
Shares of Continental Airlines (CAL) are up 61 cents, or 2.6%, at $23.89 after the company this morning met Q2 revenue estimates but beat on the bottom line.
Q2 revenue rose almost 19% to $3.708 billion, just slightly less than the average $3.711 billion estimate, while profit per share of $1.60 was 9 cents better than expected.
Operating expenses rose just 3%, allowing the company to swing to a $328 million pre-tax profit from a year-earlier $154 million loss.
Passenger revenue in the U.S. rose 11%, while trans-Atlantic fare revenue was up 23% and Pacific fares were up almost 40%. The company’s yield was up 17% as the load factor rose to 84.6%, up 1.9 percentage points. Capacity was held flat with the prior year, with available seat miles dipping 1.7% in the U.S. and 6% for trans-Atlantic flights
Higher freight volume drove cargo revenue up 35%, the company said.
Continental said it was the first airline in the world to announce routes for Boeing’s (BA) forthcoming “Dreamliner” 787 aircraft. The airline plans to fly nonstop to Auckland, New Zealand, and to Lagos, Nigeria, from Houston, starting in November of 2011.
