United Lowers Guidance On Oil And Terror Attacks

Shares of United Continental Holdings Inc UAL were trading lower by nearly 2 percent on Tuesday after the company reported its December 2015 operational performance and fourth quarter guidance. United Continental said that its December 2015 consolidated traffic (revenue passenger miles) rose 1.5 percent and its consolidated capacity (available seat miles) increased 2.2 percent versus the same month a year ago. In a regulatory filing, United Continental guided its fourth quarter 2015 passenger revenue to decline 5.75 percent to 6.25 percent year-over-year. The company cited a strong US dollar, lower surcharges, travel reductions from energy-focused corporate customers and a softening in domestic yields. United Continental added that its fourth quarter guidance includes the negative impact of the Paris terrorist attacks, fuel price declines, higher capacity driven by improved completion rates and softer demand "as demonstrated by the downward revisions to GDP in the fourth quarter."