The Empire State Building on the New York skyline at sunrise is framed between airplanes at Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey September 13, 2006.
(REUTERS/Gary Hershorn)
Continental Airlines posts loss
The Empire State Building on the New York skyline at sunrise is framed between airplanes at Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey September 13, 2006.
(REUTERS/Gary Hershorn)
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Continental Airlines Inc <CAL.N> on Thursday posted a first-quarter loss as record fuel costs continue to roil the industry.
The fourth-largest U.S. carrier reported a net loss of $80 million, or 81 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier profit of $22 million, or 21 cents a share.
Excluding special items, the loss was 86 cents a share. Analysts on average had expected a loss of 94 cents, according to Reuters Estimates.
Revenue increased 12.3 percent to $3.6 billion, helped by fuel surcharges and international growth.
Rising costs and a weak U.S. economy helped prompt a merger deal between two of Continental's biggest rivals, Delta Air Lines <DAL.N> and Northwest Airlines Corp <NWA.N>, and could spur a wave of further consolidation amid fears of falling travel demand.
Continental and UAL Corp's <UAUA.O> United Airlines have reportedly been in merger talks for months.
(Reporting by Mark McSherry; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)
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