Delta Air Lines has reported a first quarter net profit of $37 million or $0.06 per diluted share on a year-over-year increase in revenue of 8.0 percent to $13.75 billion. At March 31, 2024, Delta had liquidity of $7.4 billion including $2.9 billion in undrawn revolver capacity.
On Wednesday (April 10, 2024), Delta Air Lines reported their first quarter financial results for the period ending March 31, 2024. The carrier reported a first quarter net profit of $37 million or $0.06 per diluted share on an 8.0 percent year-over-year increase in revenue to $13.75 billion. Delta’s first quarter total adjusted revenue per available seat mile (TRASM) decreased (0.7) percent versus Q1 2023 to 19.17 cents, while cost per available seat mile (CASM) declined 6.0 percent compared to the same period last year to 20.04 cents. Adjusted costs excluding fuel (CASM-ex) increased year-over-year by 1.5 percent to 14.08 cents.
In Wednesday’s announcement, Delta Air Lines’ Chief Executive Officer, Ed Bastian, said,
“Thanks to the extraordinary work of our 100,000 people, Delta is delivering the best operational reliability in our history, and we have widened the gap to our competitors. We were thrilled to recognize their efforts with $1.4 billion in profit sharing payouts during the quarter.
“For the March quarter, we delivered record revenue on outstanding operational performance, enabling strong earnings growth. We anticipate continued strong momentum for our business, and in the June quarter, we expect to deliver record revenue, a mid-teens operating margin and earnings of $2.20 to $2.50 per share. We remain confident in our full year targets for earnings of $6 to $7 per share and free cash flow of $3 to $4 billion.”
At March 31, 2024, Delta Air Lines had $7.4 billion in liquidity, including cash, cash equivalents, short term investments and $2.9 billion in undrawn revolving credit capacity, and total debt and finance lease obligations of $19.4 billion.
Also commenting on the company’s first quarter 2024 financial results, Delta’s President, Glen Hauenstein, said,
“We generated record March quarter revenues, 6 percent higher than the prior year. Total unit revenue (TRASM) was down 0.7 percent compared to last year, including a nearly one-point headwind from Cargo and MRO. This result was at the high end of our guidance, with the growth rate improving three points from the December quarter.
“Strong demand for travel on Delta is continuing into the June quarter where we expect total revenue growth of 5 to 7 percent compared to the June quarter 2023 on TRASM of flat to down 2 percent. Within this outlook, all geographic entities are expected to achieve unit revenue approximately flat to last year, except Latin, where we expect a double-digit decline as we lap strong performance and continue to profitably invest in the network.”
Delta Air Lines First Quarter 2024 Financial Results - Courtesy Delta Air Lines
Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) is the global U.S. airline leader in safety, innovation, reliability and customer experience. The carrier operates over 4,000 daily flights across more than 280 destinations on six continents. Delta has over 100,000 team members and has served over 190 million customers in 2023. The airline operates significant hubs and key markets in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, London-Heathrow, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York-JFK and LaGuardia, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City, Seattle, Seoul-Incheon and Tokyo. For the last decade, Delta has led the industry in operational excellence, while maintaining their reputation for award-winning customer service.
Source: Delta Air Lines/PRNewswire