Delta Air Lines has reported a fourth quarter 2022 net profit of $828 million or $1.29 per diluted share on an 8.0 percent revenue increase versus Q4 2019 to $12.3 billion. For the full year, the carrier reported a net profit of $1.32 billion or $2.06 per diluted share.
On Friday (January 13, 2023), Delta Air Lines reported their fourth quarter and full-year financial results for the period ending December 31, 2022. The carrier reported a fourth quarter net profit of $828 million or $1.29 per diluted share on an 8.0 percent increase in revenue to $12.3 billion compared to the same quarter in 2019. For the full-year, Delta reported a net profit of $1.32 billion or $2.06 per diluted share on revenue of $50.6 billion, up from $46.7 billion in FY 2019. The airline’s fourth quarter total revenue per available seat mile (TRASM) was 22.58 cents, while cost per available seat mile (CASM) was 20.11 cents. Costs excluding fuel (CASM-ex) was 13 percent higher than in Q4 2019 on 9.0 percent lower capacity. Full-year 2022 TRASM was 21.69 cents versus 17.07 cents in FY19, while full-year CASM was 20.12 compared to 14.67 cents in 2019. CASM-ex for FY 2022 was 18 percent higher than in FY19 on 15 percent less capacity.
In Friday’s announcement, Delta Air Lines’ Chief Executive Officer, Ed Bastian, said,
“Delta people rose to the challenges of 2022, delivering industry-leading operational reliability and financial performance, and I'm looking forward to recognizing their achievements with over $500 million in profit sharing payments next month. As we move into 2023, the industry backdrop for air travel remains favorable and Delta is well positioned to deliver significant earnings and free cash flow growth. We expect to grow 2023 revenue by 15 to 20 percent and improve unit costs year-over-year, supporting a full-year outlook for earnings of $5 to $6 per share and keeping us on track to achieve more than $7 of earnings per share in 2024.”
Also commenting on the carrier’s 2022 financial results and Q1 2023 outlook, Delta’s Chief Financial Officer, Dan Janki, said,
“With a step up in capacity restoration, we reported sequential improvement in December quarter unit cost performance. In 2023, we are confident in completing our network rebuild and delivering the benefits of scale and efficiency as we move through the year, resulting in a 2 to 4 percent decline in non-fuel unit costs year-over-year, including all expected labor cost increases.
“For the March quarter, we expect non-fuel unit costs to increase 3 to 4 percent year-over-year, including a full quarter impact from labor cost increases and finalizing the rebuild of our network for the peak summer period. Our outlooks for the March quarter and full year are consistent with our cost framework provided to investors on December 14, updated for all expected labor cost increases.
“We made significant progress restoring our financial foundation in 2022 with positive free cash flow generation and three quarters of double-digit margins. This enabled us to pay down over $4.5 billion of gross debt during the year, strengthening our balance sheet. We expect to deliver free cash flow of more than $2 billion in 2023 and further reduce debt on our path to reach investment grade metrics in 2024.”
At December 31, 2022, Delta Air Lines had liquidity of $9.4 billion, including $2.9 billion in undrawn revolver capacity and adjusted net debt of $22.3 billion. The carrier’s year-end Air Traffic Liability was $8.3 billion, up $1.9 billion compared to the end of 2021. During the fourth quarter, Delta’s remuneration from American Express was $1.5 billion, around 40 percent higher than in Q4 2019. For the full year, compensation from American Express was approximately $5.5 billion, exceeding the carrier’s $5.0 billion target.
Delta Air Lines took delivery of 69 aircraft in 2022, including New A321neos, A220-300s, A330-900s and A350-900s, as well as gently-used Boeing 737-900ERs.
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 275 destinations on six continents. Delta has over 80,000 team members and has served as many as 200 million customers annually. For the last decade, the carrier has led the industry in operational excellence, while maintaining their reputation for award-winning customer service.
In Trading Friday Morning (January 13, 2023), shares in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE: DAL) were 5.45% lower at $37.44/share (9:33 AM EST).
Source: Delta Air Lines