Southwest Airlines today posted a slim quarterly profit, outpacing large US rivals that have reported huge losses, and said it expects a second-quarter profit as well.
Southwest, the sixth biggest US airline, said the war in Iraq has disrupted second-quarter bookings, making it hard to match year-earlier results. But the Dallas-based carrier said it should be profitable barring another catastrophic shock to the industry.
"Although our financial performance has been exceptional relative to the airline industry as a whole, Southwest, too, has been severely impacted by the lingering effects of the 2001 terrorist attacks and the war in Iraq," Chief Executive Mr James Parker said in a statement.
For the first quarter, Southwest posted earnings of $24 million, or 3 cents a share, compared with $21 million, or 3 cents a share, a year earlier. Analysts had expected earnings of 2 cents to 4 cents a share, with a mean estimate of 3 cents, according to Thomson First Call.
Southwest, which has a low-cost business model and low fares preferred by money-conscious travelers, is the only major US carrier to earn money in every quarter since the September 11th attacks. It last reported a quarterly net loss during the 1991 Gulf War.
Last week, Delta Air Lines reported a $466 million quarterly net loss, Northwest Airlines Corp. posted a $396 million net loss, and Continental Airlines reported a $221 million net loss. Those are the third, fourth and fifth largest airlines in the United States