American Airlines Q1 Earnings Beat Expectations

reported better-than-expected earnings for the first quarter on Friday. The Fort Worth, Texas-based company reported a quarterly profit of $932 million, or $1.30 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $480 million, or $0.65 per sharer. Excluding items, the company earned $1.73 per share. Its revenue slipped 1.7 percent to $9.83 billion. However, analysts were expecting a profit of $1.71 per share on revenue of $9.83 billion. Its revenue per available seat mile declined 1.7 percent year-over-year, while consolidated passenger yield slipped 1.2 percent year-over-year. Operating expenses declined 7.1 percent in the quarter to $8.6 billion. The company's board also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share. During the quarter, the company repurchased $190 million of common stock at an average price of $49.47 per share. The average estimate among 24 Estimize users was for earnings of $1.74 per share and revenue of $9.87 billion. "We are pleased to report record first quarter profits, exceeding the prior record set just last year," said Doug Parker, American Airlines Group Chairman and CEO. "The credit belongs to our 100,000 team members who are working together to restore American to the greatest airline in the world. We are particularly pleased with the integration achievements our team has realized and look forward to building on those successes through 2015 and beyond." American Airlines shares gained 0.52 percent to $51.72 in pre-market trading.