Delta Air Lines Inc. saw its shares fall today after the US carrier's second quarter earnings missed expectations, although its unit revenues saw growth for the first time since 2014.
Delta reported second quarter net income of US$1.22bn, or US$1.68 a share, down from US$1.54bn, or US$2.03 a share a year earlier. Excluding certain items, the airline's earnings were US$1.64 per share, below the consensus estimate for US$1.67.
The group said the earnings decline was mainly due to a US$125mln headwind from the disruption of operations caused by storms in Atlanta in April.
The second-largest US carrier by traffic saw its second quarter revenues rise by 3.3% to US$10.8bn, in line with analysts' expectations, and unit revenue - how much the airline takes in for each passenger flown a mile - grew by 2.5%, helped by a 0.4% rise in capacity.
The airline had forecast passenger unit revenue to increase in the range of 1% to 3% in the quarter.
Glen Hauenstein, Delta's president, said the airline expects momentum in unit revenue growth to continue, and forecast the metric to rise by between 2.5% and 4.5% in the September quarter.
In early New York trading, Delta shares were 2.1% lower at US$54.30.