Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) advanced in premarket trades after the air carrier reported a third-quarter profit beat as low fuel costs overpowered weakening fares in the U.S. and abroad.
Shares rose as much as 0.8% to $47.74 at 8 a.m. in New York. The stock is down 3% this year.
Earnings excluding some items were $1.74 a share, the Atlanta, Georgia-based company said in a statement on Wednesday.
That exceeded the $1.72 average of 15 estimates compiled by Capital IQ.
Sales fell 0.6% to $11.1bn, matching the Wall Street consensus.
“Demand remains solid and fuel prices have dropped materially,” chief executive officer Richard Anderson said in a statement. “We expect that strong performance to continue in the December quarter with operating margins of 16 to 18 percent.”
Delta, like other U.S. airlines, benefit from the drop in global crude markets. At $1.80 a gallon, Delta’s fuel cost was its lowest in years, compared with $2.90 a year earlier.
The carrier also is slashing an unspecified number of office and management jobs worldwide.