United Airlines Raises Full Year 2019 Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share Guidance

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United Airlines (UAL) today announced that it has achieved third quarter diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $3.99 and adjusted diluted EPS2 of $4.07, and raised its full year 2019 adjusted diluted EPS1guidance, with a new range of $11.25 to $12.25.

"Thanks to the outstanding efforts of our employees, United extended our streak of expanding pre-tax margin on a quarterly basis. It provides us further confidence to raise our full year 2019 adjusted diluted EPS guidance, putting us ahead of pace to achieve our goal of $11 to $13 in adjusted diluted EPS by the end of 2020," said Oscar Munoz, CEO of United Airlines. "While headwinds affected the sector as a whole this quarter, United's team once again demonstrated a robust ability to overcome adverse cost pressure, managing to continue growing our network while investing in winning our customers' loyalty through smart enhancements to the United experience."

  • Reported third quarter net income of $1.0 billion, diluted earnings per share of $3.99, pre-tax earnings of $1.3 billionand pre-tax margin of 11.9 percent, expanding pre-tax margin 2.3 points versus the third quarter of 2018.
  • Reported third quarter adjusted net income of $1.0 billion, adjusted diluted EPS of $4.07, adjusted pre-tax earnings of $1.4 billion and adjusted pre-tax margin of 12.1 percent, expanding adjusted pre-tax margin 2.5 points versus the third quarter of 2018.²
  • Consolidated third quarter passenger revenue per available seat mile (PRASM) increased 1.7 percent year-over-year.
  • Consolidated third quarter unit cost per available seat mile (CASM) decreased 0.9 percent year-over-year.
  • Consolidated third quarter CASM, excluding special charges, third party business expenses, fuel and profit sharing, increased 2.1 percent year-over-year.
  • Repurchased $363 million of its common shares in the third quarter of 2019 at an average purchase price of $88.22per share.
  • Raised $1.2 billion in Enhanced Equipment Trust Certificates at a record low blended interest rate of 2.8% in connection with the financing of certain aircraft.

1 Excludes special charges and the mark-to-market impact of financial instruments, the nature of which are not determined at this time, and imputed interest on certain finance leases. Accordingly, UAL is not providing earnings guidance on a GAAP basis.

2 Excludes special charges, the mark-to-market impact of financial instruments and imputed interest on certain finance leases. Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures are included in the tables accompanying this release.

For more information on UAL's fourth quarter and full year 2019 guidance, please visit ir.united.com for the company's investor update.

Third Quarter 2019 Highlights
Customer Experience

  • Announced MileagePlus award miles never expire, giving members a lifetime to use miles on flights, experiences, hotels and more.
  • Announced partnership with CLEAR which includes a free or discounted CLEAR membership for U.S. based MileagePlus members.
  • MileagePlus members between the ages of 18 to 22 receive a 10% discount on domestic flights when booked through the United mobile app by Dec. 31, 2019.
  • Announced improvements to United PassPlus, the airline's prepaid program that offers discounts, fixed fares and amenities to both individual and corporate customers.
  • Customers are now provided three inflight snack options on domestic flights regardless of departure time, including the Stroopwafel.
  • Customers can now pre pay for bags as soon as their ticket is issued. Previously customers had to wait until check-in to pay for their bags.
  • MileagePlus loyalty program was awarded Favorite Frequent-Flyer Program for the fourth time by Trazee Awards and the United Explorer Card from Chase was awarded Favorite Credit Card for the second consecutive year.

Operations

  • Achieved No. 1 in on-time departures in all hubs where United faces large hub competitors: Denver, Chicago and Los Angeles.
  • Completed introduction of ConnectionSaver to all of seven domestic hubs, saving over 35,000 connections in the quarter.

Employees

  • Honored with being recognized by search site indeed.com as a "Top 50 Workplace" for 2019.
  • Recognized for fourth consecutive year as a top-scoring company and best place to work for disability and inclusion with a perfect score of 100% on the 2019 Disability Equality Index.
  • Expects to hire about 8,000 people by the end of 2019.

Network

  • Announced 12 new and expanded international routes from Chicago, Denver, New York/Newark and San Franciscoincluding Nice, France; Palermo, Italy; and Curacao.
  • Announced nonstop service to Tokyo Haneda with routes from Chicago, Los Angeles, New York/Newark and Washington, D.C., beginning March 28, 2020.
  • Resumed daily nonstop service between New York/Newark and Delhi and Mumbai on September 6.

Fleet

  • Launched Boeing 767-300ER ultra-premium United Polaris business class configuration on all flights between New York/Newark and London-Heathrow starting Sept. 15, 2019.
  • Took delivery of six used Airbus A319 aircraft and nine new Embraer E175 aircraft.

Community

  • Launched Crowdrise fundraising campaign for those affected by Hurricane Dorian.
  • Operated a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crewed exclusively by women to the largest airshow in the world, EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, to symbolize the airline's commitment to supporting women in aviation.

Investor Day

On March 5, 2020 United will host an investor event in New York. More details will be provided at a later date.

Earnings Call

UAL will hold a conference call to discuss its third-quarter 2019 financial results and its financial and operational outlook for fourth-quarter and full-year 2019 on Wednesday, October 16, 2019, at 9:30 a.m. Central time /10:30 a.m. Eastern time. A live, listen-only webcast of the conference call will be available at ir.united.com. The webcast will be available for replay within 24 hours of the conference call and then archived on the website for three months.

Every customer. Every flight. Every day.

In 2019, United is focusing more than ever on its commitment to its customers, looking at every aspect of its business to ensure that the carrier keeps customers' best interests at the heart of its service. In addition to today's announcement, this year United:

  • Announced that MileagePlus award miles will never expire
  • Gave Economy customers a choice of complimentary snacks on domestic flights
  • Made DIRECTV free for every customer on more than 200 aircraft
  • Released a new version of the award-winning, most downloaded app in the airline industry
  • Launched a new tool called ConnectionSaver, dedicated to improving the experience for customers with connecting flights
  • Partnered with CLEAR on free or discounted memberships for MileagePlus members
  • Announced PlusPoints, new upgrade benefits for MileagePlus Premier members
  • And introduced products in its amenity kits made exclusively for the airline by luxury skincare line Sunday Riley