Delta Air Lines Earnings: How 1 Airline Is Coping With Coronavirus

Like all of its peers in the airline industry, Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused air travel demand to collapse. Indeed, the carrier estimates that revenue will plunge roughly 90% year over year in the second quarter. Not surprisingly, Delta is losing money and burning through cash rapidly in this environment.

That said, on Wednesday morning, Delta reported a smaller-than-feared adjusted net loss of $0.51 per share for the first quarter. (On average, analysts were expecting a $0.70 loss.) And while results will get worse in the short term, the airline revealed some important information about proactive moves to cut costs and bolster its liquidity to ensure its survival and eventual recovery.

For the first two months of the first quarter, COVID-19 was primarily a regional issue in China. The impact on the rest of Delta's route network was relatively limited until March. Nevertheless, March was bad enough to severely impact Delta's results for the quarter.

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Source Fool.com