American Airlines share price rises on biggest quarterly profit in history
American Airlines reported its biggest quarterly profit in history today, sending shares in the carrier rising.
During the three months from July to September, the carrier, which is the world's largest, achieved a net profit of $1.7bn (£1.1bn) – an 80 per cent increase from the equivalent period last year, when it earned $942m.
Excluding net charges, earnings for the three-month period amounted to $1.9bn, which was the highest quarterly profit in the company's history.
This amounts to a gain of $2.49 per diluted share for investors in the company. American Airlines put the change down to the falling price of oil, which has lost about half its value since mid-2016. The company's fuel costs fell to $1.6bn for the quarter – a 44 per cent decline from 2014.
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The company's revenue actually decreased by 3.9 per cent compared to the previous year to $10.7bn, but this was more than counteracted by an 11.9 per cent fall in overall operating expenses.
An additional $2bn share buyback was also announced along with the results, due to be completed by the end of next year. This follows on from the $1.56bn repurchase it carried out over the last three months.
Shares in the company initially went up 3.8 per cent in pre-market trading in the US, and are currently still up 3.5 per cent.