United Continental Holdings Inc. Wednesday posted a wider quarterly net loss on expenses tied to last year’s merger of UAL Corp. and Continental Airlines, but excluding items the company made a profit.
The parent of United Airlines reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $325 million, or $1.01 per share, compared with a loss of $266 million, or 85 cents per share, a year earlier.
Excluding merger costs and other one-time items that came to $485 million, UAL said it had fourth quarter earnings of $160 million, or 44 cents a share.
Quarterly revenue rose 15 percent to $8.43 billion, compared with $8.38 billion expected by analysts. Operating expenses also rose 15 percent in the quarter, with fuel costs rising nearly 27 percent.
United Continental was formed last year when UAL Corp acquired Continental Airlines. The new United is the world’s largest airline.
Merger Expenses = repainting old United livery with Continental livery that everyone hates. What an expense!