Delta's Stock Falls After Profit Miss

Shares of Delta Air Lines Inc. slumped 1.8% in premarket trade Thursday, after the air carrier reported a second-quarter profit that missed expectations. The net profit for the quarter to June 30 fell to $1.22 billion, or $1.64 a share, from $1.55 billion, or $2.03 a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to $1.64, below the FactSet consensus of $1.66. Revenue rose 3% to $10.79 billion, just shy of the FactSet consensus of $10.82 bln. Domestic revenue rose 4.4% to $6.49 billion, while Atlantic revenue fell 0.6%, Pacific revenue dropped 12.9% and Latin America revenue grew 14.1%. Passenger unit revenue rose 2.5%, while operating margin was 18.4%. For the second quarter, Delta expects passenger unit revenue growth of 2.5% to 4.5% and operating margin of 18% to 20%. The stock has climbed 12.8% year to date through Wednesday, while the NYSE Arca Airline Index has gained 9.1% and the S&P 500 has advanced 9.1%.

Copyright © 2017 MarketWatch, Inc.