Delta Air Lines has reported a rise in second-quarter profit after “significant” fuel savings offset weak revenue growth.
In its financial results for the June 2015 quarter, the US carrier recorded a net income of $1.4 billion, up 85 per cent from the same period in 2014.
Delta’s revenue increased 1 per cent year-on-year to $10.7 billion.
The airline said fuel savings in the next quarter should see it produce a record quarter with more than 30 per cent EPS (earnings per share) growth, a 19-21 per cent operating margin and $1.9 billion of operating cash flow.
“Delta’s record results have allowed the company to invest in its employees through higher wage rates and profit sharing; improve the experience for our customers through new aircraft and innovative partnerships with global carriers; and uniquely deliver value for our shareholders by accelerating our capital returns while also paying down debt,” said Richard Anderson, Delta’s chief executive officer.
“We have more work and opportunity ahead of us on all of these fronts as we continue to execute on our long-term plan.”
Delta said its debt reduction initiatives continued to improve the company’s interest expense, producing $46 million in interest savings for the quarter compared to the same period in 2014.
“Because of the momentum we’ve built with our cost reduction initiatives, we expect to post our ninth consecutive quarter of sub-2% unit cost growth in September,” said Paul Jacobson, Delta’s chief financial officer.
“Cost efficiency has contributed to the record results that allowed us to return $1 billion to shareholders in the June quarter while investing in our employees and customer experience.”