United Airlines, reporting on what it called “the most difficult financial quarter in its 94-year history,” said Tuesday it lost $1.6 billion for the three months ending June 30 and is working hard to reduce losses running around $40 million per day.
Adjusted to exclude special items, the loss totaled $2.6 billion.
The Chicago-based airline, which has said it will cut about 45% of its domestic workforce, insisted it is managing its business better than other major carriers in the wake of the travel industry’s collapse due to COVID-19. United said revenue during the second quarter fell 87% from the same period last year to $1.48 billion.
It said that by the end of the current quarter, it expects to reduce its daily cash burn rate to about $25 million.
CEO Scott Kirby said the results are dire but will beat those of competitors. “We accomplished this by quickly and accurately forecasting the impact that COVID would have on passenger and cargo demand, accurately matching our schedule to that reduced demand, completing the largest debt financing deal in aviation history, and cutting expenses across our business,” he said.
“We believe this quick and aggressive action has positioned United to both survive the COVID crisis and capitalize on consumer demand when it sustainably returns.”
The net loss amounted to $5.79 a share and compares with a second-quarter profit of $1.47 billion, $4.02 a share, a year ago. The adjusted net loss was $9.31 a share, and was slightly ahead of expectations of analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research. The airline’s revenues also were slightly higher than expectations.
Executives are due to discuss the results in a conference call with analysts Wednesday morning.
The company said its operating capacity was down 88% from the second quarter of 2019.
In Tuesday’s trading, United shares finished a $33.07, up 2.3% for the day. United announced it earnings after the market’s close.
