CHICAGO—United Airlines parent company UAL Corp. reported its biggest quarterly profit in seven years Tuesday, reflecting fuller planes during a busy summer travel season and the benefits of cost reductions.
The second-quarter profit of $274 million easily topped Wall Street estimates and more than doubled the company’s earnings from a year ago, when it finished in the black for the first time since 2000.
Net income for the April-through-June period amounted to $1.83 per share, up from $119 million, or 93 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier.
Revenue rose 2 percent to $5.21 billion from $5.11 billion.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had estimated a profit of $1.39 per share on revenue of $5.15 billion.
The second-largest U.S. carrier, the dominant airline at Denver International Airport, has gradually improved its financial situation since ending a three-year bankruptcy overhaul early last year. It increased its cash balance in the quarter by $895 million to $5.1 billion. The hefty stash of cash has prompted speculation that the company may initiate a stock buyback or add to its fleet in the near future.
United shares entered the trading day at $47.24, up 7 percent since the start of the year and 18 percent since they resumed trading out of bankruptcy 18 months ago.
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