Delta Airlines has given the analysts something to talk about with their Q1 financial results significantly beating expectations.
The airline had a net income of USD $288m (AUD $442m) for the quarter vs the USD $235m (AUD $360m) that was expected. The adjusted earnings were $0.45 vs the $0.36 expected.
Meanwhile, revenue was USD $12.6 bn (AUD $ 19.3 bn), ahead of the USD $12.5 bn (AUD $19.2 bn) expected.
“We have seen some real strong demand,” Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian told Yahoo Finance. “That momentum has continued internationally. It’s continued domestically. … Year to date, we’ve seen the 11 highest sales days in our company’s history. That’s a strong predictor that the spring and summer season is going to be quite healthy on the travel side.”
“We also see business travel picking up again,” he said on the results. “That’s the reason we were able to generate the profit in the first quarter. … I think that higher level of business demand is very healthy in terms of filling in short-term travel gaps that we might have in the schedule.”
Delta stock was up 2 per cent on Wednesday. Year-to-date shares are up 17.6 per cent.
