By Karen Jacobs
Jan 16 (Reuters) - AMR Corp, the parent company
of American Airlines, reported a fourth-quarter profit Wednesday
following a year-earlier loss and said cost-cutting measures
undertaken during restructuring would buoy earnings in future.
The carrier, which is weighing a merger with US Airways
Group against exiting Chapter 11 as a standalone
company, said 2012 revenue grew 3.7 percent to $24.9 billion,
its highest annual revenue ever.
Having filed for bankruptcy protection in late 2011,
American has renegotiated plane leases, reduced management and
support staff and froze pension plans to lower costs and improve
competitiveness with rivals.
"Having reached the vast majority of our restructuring
milestones already, we can now focus on the new American
becoming reality," Chief Executive Tom Horton said in a memo to
staff. He said the financial improvement would pick up as the
full effects of the reorganization kick in.
Net income was $262 million, or 69 cents a share, compared
with a loss of $1.1 billion, or $3.27 a share, a year earlier.
Excluding items such as benefits tied to income taxes and
the settlement of a commercial dispute, American had a loss of
$88 million, or 23 cents a share. That compares with a loss of
53 cents expected by analysts, according to Thomson Reuters
I/B/E/S.
Quarterly revenue eased 0.3 percent to $5.9 billion due to
an estimated $155-million impact of superstorm Sandy, a November
snow storm and disruptions to operations last year, the carrier
said.
Operating expenses fell 12 percent in the quarter, and fuel
costs rose nearly 8 percent.
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