beech1900kid
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Here is a portion of ual's press release.....
UAL Corporation Reports Restructuring Progress
Thursday April 29, 1:46 pm ET
First Quarter Operating Loss of $211 Million Reflects Strong Improvement of $602 Million Year-Over-Year.
Passenger Unit Revenue Up 14%, Outperforming the Industry
Unit Costs Down 11%; Excluding Fuel, Unit Costs Dip 14%
UAL Clears Major Issues On the Path to Exit from Bankruptcy
CHICAGO, April 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- UAL Corporation (OTC Bulletin Board: UALAQ - News), the holding company whose primary subsidiary is United Airlines, today reported its first-quarter 2004 financial results, which continue to demonstrate significant progress in the company's restructuring.
UAL's first-quarter operating loss was $211 million, a strong improvement of $602 million over first-quarter results last year. This reflects the company's continuing efforts to restructure its business by lowering costs, increasing productivity and improving revenue performance. UAL reported a net loss of $459 million, or a loss per basic share of $4.17, which includes $143 million in special and reorganization items described in the notes to the financial tables. The majority of reorganization charges resulted from non- cash items caused by the rejection of aircraft. Excluding the special and reorganization items, UAL's net loss for the first quarter totaled $316 million, or a loss per basic share of $2.89.
"We are doing exactly what we said we would do to be able to succeed in the new revenue environment -- maintaining a relentless focus on reducing costs and improving efficiency," said Glenn Tilton, chairman, president and chief executive officer. "But, there is still a lot of work ahead of us. Like the rest of the industry, we are impacted by fuel prices. Unlike our peers, though, we have landmark, consensual six-year labor agreements that will differentiate us competitively in the years ahead."
Tilton cited several of United's achievements in the first quarter:
Cleared major issues on path to exit, including pension legislation that defers a portion of our 2004 and 2005 pension funding obligations to future years; a court ruling that our municipal bonds in Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco were pre-petition debt; and a recently approved transition agreement that ensures seamless service for United Express customers formerly served by Atlantic Coast Airlines;
Increased passenger unit revenue 14% compared to last year, an improvement that outperformed the industry;
Reduced mainline unit costs by 11%. Excluding fuel, unit costs dropped by 14%, an improvement that also outperformed the industry;
Improved earnings from operations by $602 million over the same quarter a year ago;
Introduced Ted's lower-fare service to leisure travel destinations across the country with a current daily total of about 120 flights to a number of leisure destinations from United's hubs in Denver, Washington Dulles, San Francisco and Los Angeles. For the month of March, Ted had 89 percent load factor and on-time arrivals :14 were at 88 percent. Booking growth on Ted flights continues to match or exceed capacity additions;
Announced new international routes - United will begin Beijing-San Francisco and Chicago-Osaka service in June. United also announced this week that it will be the first U.S. commercial carrier to provide service to Vietnam, implementing daily San Francisco-Ho Chi Minh City service via Hong Kong as soon as the necessary regulatory procedures have been completed by the relevant Vietnamese and U.S. government agencies; and
Introduced dynamic new aircraft livery and launched the "It's Time to Fly" print and TV advertising and brand campaign to further re-engage customers.
Jake Brace, United's executive vice president and chief financial officer, said, "In the first quarter, United's financial performance was right on plan with the exception of fuel costs. Our revenue performance met our expectations in the seasonally weak first quarter, but, like the rest of the industry, United has been adversely impacted by historically high fuel prices. Looking ahead, we are encouraged by strong bookings as we move into the second and third quarters - our high demand season."
Financial Results Continue Improvement
The company recorded positive operating cash flow of over $4 million per day in the quarter. UAL ended the quarter with a strong cash balance of $2.6 billion, including $683 million in restricted cash. UAL's first-quarter 2004 operating revenues were $3.7 billion, up 17% compared to first quarter 2003. Load factor increased 3.6 points to 75.3% as traffic increased 5.8% on a 0.8% increase in capacity. In March, load factor reached a record 80.1%, up 6.4 points over March 2003. Passenger unit revenue was 14% higher on a 9% yield increase. Although year-over-year unit revenue improvement was aided by last year's weakness, our route and capacity adjustments, aggressive marketing and sales activities helped United outperform the industry by a wide margin.
Total operating expenses for the quarter were $3.9 billion, down 1% from the year-ago quarter.
Salaries and related costs decreased $287 million or 19% for the quarter. Productivity (available seat miles divided by manpower) was up 13% for the quarter year-over-year.
Aircraft rent decreased $64 million or 32% compared to first quarter 2003. UAL is on track to achieve average annual cash savings of $900 million from the Section 1110 process.
Average fuel price for the quarter was 107.4 cents per gallon, up 4% year- over-year.
Aircraft maintenance, which includes primarily maintenance outsourcing and maintenance materials, increased $67 million or 57% year-over-year.
The company had an effective tax rate of zero for the first quarter, which makes UAL's pre-tax loss the same as its net loss.
Operational Performance Among the Best in UAL History
The company continued to deliver outstanding operational performance for the first quarter 2004. Sixty-nine percent of United flights departed exactly on time during the quarter, nine percentage points better than the goal set by the company for its new employee incentive program. Customer satisfaction ratings were among the highest the company has received. Customer definite intent to repurchase and passenger ratings of reservations, check-in and comfort were at all-time highs for the quarter.
Glenn Tilton said, "As we restructure our finances we are also changing the way we do business, shifting our company culture to concentrate on performance and accountability. United employees this week received their first payments as part of the company's Success Sharing program, which rewards employees for meeting the company's business objectives, including on-time performance and customer intent to repurchase. I want to congratulate all our employees on delivering a record for the quarter that we can be proud of and that demonstrates the kind of hard work and shared focus on our customers we need to compete effectively."
UAL Corporation Reports Restructuring Progress
Thursday April 29, 1:46 pm ET
First Quarter Operating Loss of $211 Million Reflects Strong Improvement of $602 Million Year-Over-Year.
Passenger Unit Revenue Up 14%, Outperforming the Industry
Unit Costs Down 11%; Excluding Fuel, Unit Costs Dip 14%
UAL Clears Major Issues On the Path to Exit from Bankruptcy
CHICAGO, April 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- UAL Corporation (OTC Bulletin Board: UALAQ - News), the holding company whose primary subsidiary is United Airlines, today reported its first-quarter 2004 financial results, which continue to demonstrate significant progress in the company's restructuring.
UAL's first-quarter operating loss was $211 million, a strong improvement of $602 million over first-quarter results last year. This reflects the company's continuing efforts to restructure its business by lowering costs, increasing productivity and improving revenue performance. UAL reported a net loss of $459 million, or a loss per basic share of $4.17, which includes $143 million in special and reorganization items described in the notes to the financial tables. The majority of reorganization charges resulted from non- cash items caused by the rejection of aircraft. Excluding the special and reorganization items, UAL's net loss for the first quarter totaled $316 million, or a loss per basic share of $2.89.
"We are doing exactly what we said we would do to be able to succeed in the new revenue environment -- maintaining a relentless focus on reducing costs and improving efficiency," said Glenn Tilton, chairman, president and chief executive officer. "But, there is still a lot of work ahead of us. Like the rest of the industry, we are impacted by fuel prices. Unlike our peers, though, we have landmark, consensual six-year labor agreements that will differentiate us competitively in the years ahead."
Tilton cited several of United's achievements in the first quarter:
Cleared major issues on path to exit, including pension legislation that defers a portion of our 2004 and 2005 pension funding obligations to future years; a court ruling that our municipal bonds in Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco were pre-petition debt; and a recently approved transition agreement that ensures seamless service for United Express customers formerly served by Atlantic Coast Airlines;
Increased passenger unit revenue 14% compared to last year, an improvement that outperformed the industry;
Reduced mainline unit costs by 11%. Excluding fuel, unit costs dropped by 14%, an improvement that also outperformed the industry;
Improved earnings from operations by $602 million over the same quarter a year ago;
Introduced Ted's lower-fare service to leisure travel destinations across the country with a current daily total of about 120 flights to a number of leisure destinations from United's hubs in Denver, Washington Dulles, San Francisco and Los Angeles. For the month of March, Ted had 89 percent load factor and on-time arrivals :14 were at 88 percent. Booking growth on Ted flights continues to match or exceed capacity additions;
Announced new international routes - United will begin Beijing-San Francisco and Chicago-Osaka service in June. United also announced this week that it will be the first U.S. commercial carrier to provide service to Vietnam, implementing daily San Francisco-Ho Chi Minh City service via Hong Kong as soon as the necessary regulatory procedures have been completed by the relevant Vietnamese and U.S. government agencies; and
Introduced dynamic new aircraft livery and launched the "It's Time to Fly" print and TV advertising and brand campaign to further re-engage customers.
Jake Brace, United's executive vice president and chief financial officer, said, "In the first quarter, United's financial performance was right on plan with the exception of fuel costs. Our revenue performance met our expectations in the seasonally weak first quarter, but, like the rest of the industry, United has been adversely impacted by historically high fuel prices. Looking ahead, we are encouraged by strong bookings as we move into the second and third quarters - our high demand season."
Financial Results Continue Improvement
The company recorded positive operating cash flow of over $4 million per day in the quarter. UAL ended the quarter with a strong cash balance of $2.6 billion, including $683 million in restricted cash. UAL's first-quarter 2004 operating revenues were $3.7 billion, up 17% compared to first quarter 2003. Load factor increased 3.6 points to 75.3% as traffic increased 5.8% on a 0.8% increase in capacity. In March, load factor reached a record 80.1%, up 6.4 points over March 2003. Passenger unit revenue was 14% higher on a 9% yield increase. Although year-over-year unit revenue improvement was aided by last year's weakness, our route and capacity adjustments, aggressive marketing and sales activities helped United outperform the industry by a wide margin.
Total operating expenses for the quarter were $3.9 billion, down 1% from the year-ago quarter.
Salaries and related costs decreased $287 million or 19% for the quarter. Productivity (available seat miles divided by manpower) was up 13% for the quarter year-over-year.
Aircraft rent decreased $64 million or 32% compared to first quarter 2003. UAL is on track to achieve average annual cash savings of $900 million from the Section 1110 process.
Average fuel price for the quarter was 107.4 cents per gallon, up 4% year- over-year.
Aircraft maintenance, which includes primarily maintenance outsourcing and maintenance materials, increased $67 million or 57% year-over-year.
The company had an effective tax rate of zero for the first quarter, which makes UAL's pre-tax loss the same as its net loss.
Operational Performance Among the Best in UAL History
The company continued to deliver outstanding operational performance for the first quarter 2004. Sixty-nine percent of United flights departed exactly on time during the quarter, nine percentage points better than the goal set by the company for its new employee incentive program. Customer satisfaction ratings were among the highest the company has received. Customer definite intent to repurchase and passenger ratings of reservations, check-in and comfort were at all-time highs for the quarter.
Glenn Tilton said, "As we restructure our finances we are also changing the way we do business, shifting our company culture to concentrate on performance and accountability. United employees this week received their first payments as part of the company's Success Sharing program, which rewards employees for meeting the company's business objectives, including on-time performance and customer intent to repurchase. I want to congratulate all our employees on delivering a record for the quarter that we can be proud of and that demonstrates the kind of hard work and shared focus on our customers we need to compete effectively."
