The Clap
United Airlines has reported quarterly profit of $329 million but the significant increase in operating costs has hurt their margin..
The Deets
Increased travel demand pushed revenues by 24% from 2019 (pre pandemic period). This increase in demand came even with the high fare prices.
Unit costs have also increased by 17% since Q2 of 2019. Fuel witnessed a bigger surge in price.
Following the news, United Airlines do not plan on growing operations yet, as they want to proceed with caution given the ongoing economic and political situation. They plan on expanding operations by 8% next year, which is down from the initial 20% planned in 2019.
Why is this important?
The news following the earnings report pushed the stock down by around 7%. Revenue was recorded at $12.11 billion, less than the expected $12.16 billion. In addition to that, higher costs had a larger impact on the airline’s bottom line.