American Airlines posts third-quarter net loss of $149 million due to labor agreement

American Airlines on Thursday published a net loss of $149 million in the third quarter due to an exceptional charge due to a new social agreement with its cabin crew, but it exceeded forecasts. Like the same period of 2023 which recorded an exceptional net charge of 573 million linked to the social agreement with its pilots, the airline recorded a net charge of 516 million in the third quarter under the agreement social agreement concluded with its hostesses and stewards. Without this charge, net profit would have been $205 million.

Reported per share and on a comparable basis – a benchmark for the markets – the group is therefore in the green with a net profit of 30 cents, almost double the consensus of 16 cents predicted by FactSet analysts. Revenue rose 1.2% to $13.65 billion. Analysts expected 13.50 billion.

Robert Isom, boss of the group cited in a press release, underlined a “cost control” during this period. Moreover, “we have undertaken strong actions to restart our sales and our distribution strategy, by resetting relationships with business travel specialists”he continued. “We are confident that this will improve our revenue performance over time”added Robert Isom.

Also read
American Airlines places new orders with Airbus, Embraer and Boeing, including 85 737 MAX planes

The objective is to recover the “lost market share”noted the group, which was also affected by several exceptional external events. On the one hand, the global computer outage of software from the cybersecurity group Crowdstrike on Windows, Microsoft’s operating system, which caused many computer systems around the world to malfunction on July 19. On the other hand, hurricanes Debby in early August and Helene in late September, which hit the southeastern United States.

The company expects, based on current trends in particular in fuel prices and excluding exceptional items, to achieve a net profit per share of between 25 and 50 cents in the fourth quarter – the consensus was 32 cents before Thursday’s publication – and in a range of $1.35 to $1.60 for the entire 2024 financial year. In electronic trading before the opening of the New York Stock Exchange, American Airlines shares fell 1.17% .