UPDATE: Delta Air Posts Higher Q2 Earnings, Shares Gain

Delta Air Lines

reported a 17% gain in its second-quarter earnings. The Atlanta, Georgia-based company posted a quarterly profit of $801 million, or $0.94 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $685 million, or $0.80 per share. The latest quarter results included $340 million in profit sharing expense, a $69 million charge for debt extinguishment and a $20 million charge associated with Delta's domestic fleet restructuring. Excluding certain items, its earnings rose to $1.04 per share from $0.98 per share. Its revenue rose 9.4% to $10.62 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $1.03 per share on revenue of $10.65 billion. Delta's passenger unit revenue climbed 5.7%, while traffic rose 5%. Capacity increased 3.2%, while load factor surged to 86.3% versus 84.8%. Cash from operations during the quarter was $2.1 billion, while capital expenditures were $520 million. Delta chief executive officer Richard Anderson said, "Delta's performance this quarter, with 9 percent top line growth, more than 4 points of margin expansion and $1.5 billion of free cash flow, shows the financial strength and resilience of our company. We expect our September quarter performance will be even stronger, as we expand our operating margins to 15-17% and further improve our profitability." Delta shares rose 1.41% to $38.21 in pre-market trading.