UPDATE: Delta Air Lines Shares Surge On Upbeat Earnings

Shares of

rose around 3% in pre-market trading after the company reported upbeat earnings for the fourth quarter. The Atlanta, Georgia-based company posted a quarterly net loss of $712 million, or $0.86 per share, compared to earnings of $8.479 billion, or $9.89 per share, in the year-ago quarter. The latest quarter included $1.4 billion special items charge, versus $7.9 billion special items gain in the year-ago quarter. Excluding special items, the company earned $0.78 per share. Its revenue climbed 4.6% to $8.234 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.77 per share on revenue of $9.53 billion. Delta's operating revenue rose 6% in the December 2014 quarter. Traffic climbed 4.0%, while capacity rose 3.7%. Passenger revenue surged 4.6%, while cargo revenue gained 2.1%. Cash from operations during the quarter was $1.5 billion. During the quarter, Delta repurchased 12.2 million shares at an average price of $40.96 for $500 million. Richard Anderson, Delta's chief executive officer said, "As we begin 2015, we have a significant opportunity from lower fuel prices, which will drive more than $2 billion in fuel savings over 2014. Through our capacity discipline, pricing our product to demand, and the fuel savings, we expect to drive double-digit earnings growth, along with increased free cash flow and a higher return on invested capital in the upcoming year." Delta Air shares gained 2.97% to $47.20 in pre-market trading.