United Continental Reports Mixed Q1 Earnings

United Continental UAL reported quarterly losses of $2.57 per share on Thursday, which beat the analyst consensus estimate of a loss of $3.47.

The company reported quarterly sales of $7.979 billion, which missed the analyst consensus estimate of $8.22 billion by 2.93%. This is a 16.79% decrease over sales of $9.589 billion the same period last year.

"Throughout the COVID-19 crisis we have maintained our focus - first on the safety of our customers and our people and second on swiftly taking action to keep United operating,” said United Continental CEO Oscar Munoz in a statement.

“We have been at the forefront of warning how deep of an impact we expect this crisis could have and how long we expect it could last. We've also led the industry in taking decisive steps to mitigate the operational and financial impacts of COVID-19 -- making deep schedule reductions, drastically reducing spending and aggressively raising liquidity," adds Munoz.

United Airlines shares were trading higher by 2.4% at $30.21 in Thursday’s after-hours session. The stock has a 52-week range between $96.03 and $17.80.