A surge of passengers last month enabled United Airlines' parent company, UAL Corp., to post a 2 percent increase in operating profits in the first quarter despite a jump in fuel costs.
The 10 percent jump in passenger revenue in March compared with a year ago resulted in earnings that exceeded Wall Street expectations.
Excluding one-time charges and certain compensation expenses, the world's largest airline earned $191 million, or $1.61 per share, up from $187 million, or $1.54 per share, in the year-earlier period. Analysts surveyed by First Call/Thomson Financial had pegged earnings at $1.37 a share.
Revenues grew 9 percent to $4.55 billion from $4.16 billion thanks to the late-quarter rise in passengers and higher fares, an industrywide move aimed at compensating for fuel costs that rose 37 percent due to higher crude oil prices.
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