OREANDA-NEWS. Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) today reported financial results for the September 2013 quarter.  Highlights from the quarter include:

Delta's net profit for the September 2013 quarter was USD 1.2 billion, or USD 1.41 per diluted share, excluding special items1.  This result is a USD 444 million improvement year-over-year.
Including USD 157 million in special items, Delta's GAAP net income was USD 1.4 billion, or USD 1.59 per diluted share.
The company began returning capital to shareholders, with USD 100 million in share repurchases and USD 51 million in dividend payments.
September quarter results include USD 249 million of profit sharing expense in recognition of Delta employees' contributions to the company's financial performance.
Delta generated USD 1.2 billion of operating cash flow and USD 627 million of free cash flow in the September 2013 quarter, and ended the period with adjusted net debt of USD 9.9 billion.

"Delta's outstanding financial results, operational performance and customer service this quarter reflect the hard work of 80,000 Delta employees worldwide," said Richard Anderson, Delta's chief executive officer.  "These results reflect the progress we've made over the last five years, and we have even more exciting opportunities ahead of us as we build a better airline for our customers, employees and investors."

Revenue Environment

Delta's operating revenue improved USD 567 million in the September 2013 quarter compared to the September 2012 quarter.  Traffic increased 2.1 percent on a 2.6 percent increase in capacity.

Passenger revenue increased 6.7 percent, or USD 581 million, compared to the prior year period.  Passenger unit revenue (PRASM) increased 4.0 percent year over year with a 4.5 percent improvement in yield.
Cargo revenue decreased 6.1 percent, or USD 15 million, on declining freight yields. 
Other revenue was flat year over year as growth in Delta's third-party staffing business revenues offset a decline in third-party maintenance revenues.
Cost Performance

Total operating expense in the quarter increased USD 312 million year-over-year driven by higher volume- and revenue-related expenses; the impact of operational, service and employee investments; and USD 75 million higher profit sharing expense.  These cost increases were partially offset by the savings from Delta's structural cost initiatives.  Non-operating expense declined as a result of lower interest expense and a USD 40 million benefit for the portion of Virgin Atlantic's September quarter profit attributable to Delta's ownership stake.

Consolidated unit cost excluding fuel expense, profit sharing and special items (CASM-Ex2), was 1.1 percent higher in the September 2013 quarter on a year-over-year basis, driven by the impact of wage increases and operational and service investments.  GAAP consolidated CASM increased 1.0 percent.

Fuel expense, excluding mark-to-market adjustments, declined USD 81 million as a result of lower market fuel prices and better settled hedge performance. Delta's average fuel price3 was USD 2.97 per gallon for the September quarter, which includes USD 0.06 in hedge gains.  On a GAAP-basis, fuel expense for the September quarter increased USD 74 million year-over-year, driven by lower mark-to-market gains on hedges.

For the September quarter, operations at the Trainer refinery produced a USD 3 million profit.  While lower crack spreads pressured results at the refinery, they also reduced market jet fuel prices and helped lower Delta's overall fuel expense.

Cash Flow

Cash from operations during the September 2013 quarter was USD 1.2 billion, driven by the company's September quarter profit.  The company generated USD 627 million of free cash flow.

Capital expenditures during the September 2013 quarter were USD 635 million, including USD 450 million in fleet investments and USD 61 million for the purchase of 12 aircraft off lease. During the quarter, Delta's debt maturities and capital leases were USD 430 million.

In the September quarter, the company began returning capital to shareholders.  On Sept. 10, the company paid USD 51 million to shareholders, which represents the USD 0.06 per share quarterly dividend declared earlier in the year.  In addition, the company repurchased 4.8 million shares at an average price of USD 20.82 for a total of USD 100 million.  The company has USD 400 million remaining of the USD 500 million share repurchase plan authorized by Delta's Board of Directors in May.

Delta ended the quarter with adjusted net debt of USD 9.9 billion and the company has now achieved over USD 7 billion in net debt reduction since 2009.  This debt reduction strategy produced a USD 33 million year-over-year reduction in interest expense in the September quarter.  As of September 30, 2013, Delta had USD 5.8 billion in unrestricted liquidity, including USD 4 billion in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, and USD 1.8 billion in undrawn revolving credit facilities.

"The USD 1.8 billion in free cash flow we have generated so far this year has allowed us to achieve our initial USD 10 billion debt target and start down the path toward our new USD 7 billion target," said Paul Jacobson, Delta's chief financial officer.  "With consistently solid cash generation, we are moving forward with our plan to return capital to shareholders while continuing to invest in the company and strengthen our balance sheet."

Company Highlights

Delta has a strong commitment to its employees, customers and the communities it serves.  Recent Delta highlights include:

Recognizing the achievements of Delta employees toward meeting the company's financial and operational goals with USD 456 million of incentives so far this year, including USD 387 million in profit sharing expense and USD 69 million in Shared Rewards payments;
Significantly improving its operational performance, resulting in an on-time arrival rate of 83 percent and a 99.8 percent completion factor so far this year.  This completion factor performance includes 40 days of 100 percent mainline completion factor;
Receiving final approval from the U.S. Department of Transportation for Delta's joint venture with Virgin Atlantic Airways with a grant of anti-trust immunity.  The joint venture will allow the airlines to deepen their cooperation, offering more flight choice for travelers on both sides of the Atlantic and improving the travel options for business customers in the New York to London market;
Equipping Delta's crews with enhanced technology by providing all flight attendants new Windows Phone 8 handheld devices that will streamline on-board purchasing and improve the customer experience and also announcing plans to provide Delta's 11,000 pilots with the Microsoft Surface 2 tablet, allowing pilots more efficient access to real-time flight information; and
Continuing to support the communities we serve through Delta's Force for Global Good, including raising nearly USD 7 million since 2005 for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and furthering the foundation's goal of breast cancer awareness with Delta's Pink Plane, a 767-400 dedicated to Evelyn Lauder and featuring BCRF's trademarked pink ribbon logo on the tail of the aircraft.
Special Items

Delta recorded special items totaling a USD 157 million gain in the September 2013 quarter, including:

a USD 285 million gain for mark-to-market adjustments for fuel hedges settling in future periods; and
a USD 128 million charge for facilities, fleet and other items, primarily associated with Delta's domestic fleet restructuring.
Delta recorded special items totaling a USD 279 million gain in the September 2012 quarter, including:

a USD 440 million gain for mark-to-market adjustments for fuel hedges settling in future periods;
a USD 39 million gain associated with the exchange of slots at New York-LaGuardia and Washington-Reagan National;
a USD 12 million loss on extinguishment of debt;
a USD 66 million charge for severance and related costs; and
a USD 122 million charge for facilities, fleet and other, including charges resulting from the closure of Comair.