United Airlines Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:UAL, ETR:UAL1) shares gained almost 5% in afterhours trade on Tuesday as the airline’s first quarter financial results came in ahead of expectations.
For the quarter ended March 31, 2023, it posted an adjusted loss per share of $0.15, significantly less than the loss per share of $0.53 expected by Wall Street analysts.
Its net loss was $124 million. The airline said it took an approximately $200 million hit from the grounding of Boeing 737 MAX 9s for safety reasons following an incident on an Air Alaska flight in January.
Quarterly revenue also came in ahead of expectations of $12.43 billion at $12.54 billion.
The airline increased its capacity by 9.1% over the year-ago quarter.
It reiterated its full-year adjusted earnings per share guidance of $9 to $11 per share, compared to the Street estimate of $9.46.
Additionally, United Airlines said has adjusted its long-term fleet strategy to match its future needs and manufacturers’ production and delivery timelines, stating that it was providing for the "more consistent delivery" of approximately 100 narrowbody aircraft per year from 2025 through to 2027.
In the short run, it noted that several aircraft due to enter service in 2Q will be delayed until 3Q. It said this would have a “minimal” impact on its capacity plans.
"We've adjusted our fleet plan to better reflect the reality of what the manufacturers are able to deliver,” United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said.
“And, we'll use those planes to capitalize on an opportunity that only United has: profitably grow our mid-continent hubs and expand our highly profitable international network from our best in the industry coastal hubs."
United Airlines stock was up 4.9% at about $43.53 shortly after the release of its earnings report.