Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) today reported financial results for the March quarter and provided its outlook for the June quarter. Highlights of the March quarter, including both GAAP and adjusted metrics, are on page five and incorporated here.
“Thanks to the extraordinary work of our 100,000 people, Delta is delivering the best operational reliability in our history, and we have widened the gap to our competitors. We were thrilled to recognize their efforts with $1.4 billion in profit sharing payouts during the quarter,” said Ed Bastian, Delta’s Chief Executive Officer.
“For the March quarter, we delivered record revenue on outstanding operational performance, enabling strong earnings growth. We anticipate continued strong momentum for our business, and in the June quarter, we expect to deliver record revenue, a mid-teens operating margin and earnings of $2.20 to $2.50 per share. We remain confident in our full year targets for earnings of $6 to $7 per share and free cash flow of $3 to $4 billion.”
MARCH QUARTER 2024 GAAP FINANCIAL RESULTS
- Operating revenue of $13.7 billion
- Operating income of $614 million with an operating margin of 4.5 percent
- Pre-tax income of $122 million with a pre-tax margin of 0.9 percent
- Earnings per share of $0.06
- Operating cash flow of $2.4 billion
- Payments on debt and finance lease obligations of $712 million
- Total debt and finance lease obligations of $19.4 billion at quarter end
MARCH QUARTER 2024 ADJUSTED FINANCIAL RESULTS
- Operating revenue of $12.6 billion, 6 percent higher than the March quarter 2023
- Operating income of $640 million with an operating margin of 5.1 percent
- Pre-tax income of $380 million with a pre-tax margin of 3.0 percent
- Earnings per share of $0.45
- Operating cash flow of $2.5 billion
- Free cash flow of $1.4 billion
- Adjusted debt to EBITDAR of 2.9x, down from 3.0x at the end of 2023
- Return on invested capital of 13.8 percent on a trailing five quarter average, up 2.8 points over prior year.
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FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
Statements made in this press release that are not historical facts, including statements regarding our estimates, expectations, beliefs, intentions, projections, goals, aspirations, commitments or strategies for the future, should be considered “forward-looking statements” under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are not guarantees or promised outcomes and should not be construed as such. All forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the estimates, expectations, beliefs, intentions, projections, goals, aspirations, commitments and strategies reflected in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the possible effects of serious accidents involving our aircraft or aircraft of our airline partners; breaches or lapses in the security of technology systems we use and rely on, which could compromise the data stored within them, as well as failure to comply with evolving global privacy and security regulatory obligations or adequately address increasing customer focus on privacy issues and data security; disruptions in our information technology infrastructure; our dependence on technology in our operations; increases in the cost of aircraft fuel; extended disruptions in the supply of aircraft fuel, including from Monroe Energy, LLC (“Monroe”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Delta that operates the Trainer refinery; failure to receive the expected results or returns from our commercial relationships with airlines in other parts of the world and the investments we have in certain of those airlines; the effects of a significant disruption in the operations or performance of third parties on which we rely; failure to comply with the financial and other covenants in our financing agreements; labor issues; the effects on our business of seasonality and other factors beyond our control, such as changes in value in our equity investments, severe weather conditions, natural disasters or other environmental events, including from the impact of climate change; failure or inability of insurance to cover a significant liability at Monroe’s refinery; failure to comply with existing and future environmental regulations to which Monroe’s refinery operations are subject, including costs related to compliance with renewable fuel standard regulations; significant damage to our reputation and brand, including from exposure to significant adverse publicity or inability to achieve certain sustainability goals; our ability to retain senior management and other key employees, and to maintain our company culture; disease outbreaks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic or similar public health threats, and measures implemented to combat them; the effects of terrorist attacks, geopolitical conflict or security events; competitive conditions in the airline industry; extended interruptions or disruptions in service at major airports at which we operate or significant problems associated with types of aircraft or engines we operate; the effects of extensive government regulation we are subject to; the impact of environmental regulation, including but not limited to regulation of hazardous substances, increased regulation to reduce emissions and other risks associated with climate change, and the cost of compliance with more stringent environmental regulations; and unfavorable economic or political conditions in the markets in which we operate or volatility in currency exchange rates.
Additional information concerning risks and uncertainties that could cause differences between actual results and forward-looking statements is contained in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023. Caution should be taken not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements, which represent our views only as of the date of this press release, and which we undertake no obligation to update except to the extent required by law.
