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Delta Air Lines has released its financial results for the last quarter and full year 2018.
A copy of the report made available to Daily Sun indicated that for the full year, the airline’s adjusted pre-tax income stood at $5.1 billion, operating a $137 million decrease relative to what was recorded in 2017 as the company overcame approximately 90 percent of the $2 billion increase in fuel expense.
The airline said it’s 2018 full year adjusted earnings per share were $5.65, up by 19 percent compared to the prior year as the company recognised benefits from tax reform and a four percent lower share count.
It also disclosed that adjusted pre-tax income for the December quarter 2018 was $1.2 billion driven by over $700 million of revenue growth, allowing the airline to fully recapture the $508 million increase in adjusted fuel expense and produce an 11 percent adjusted pre-tax margin. Adjusted earnings per share for the December quarter 2018 was increased by 42 percent year over year to $1.30. For the full year, Delta generated $6.9 billion of adjusted operating cash flow and $2.3 billion of free cash flow.
During the December quarter, Delta Air Lines returned $563 million to shareholders, comprised of $325 million of share repurchases and $238 million in dividends. For the full year, Delta Air Lines returned $2.5 billion to shareholders, comprising $1.6 billion of share re-purchases and $909 million in dividends.
“2018 was a successful year for Delta Air Lines with record operational reliability, increasing customer satisfaction, and solid financial results in the face of higher fuel costs. Delta people are the foundation of our success and I am honoured to recognise their efforts with $1.3 billion in profit sharing for 2018,” said Ed Bastian, Delta’s Chief Executive Officer.
“As we move into 2019, we expect to drive double-digit earnings growth through higher revenues, maintaining a cost trajectory below inflation, and the modest benefit from lower fuel costs. Margin expansion is a business imperative and we remain confident in our full-year earnings guidance of $6 to $7 per share,”he added.
