New York, July 20: The parent of the world's largest airline on Wednesday posted better-than-expected quarterly results, but its shares rapidly lost altitude as it said the rest of the year would fall below Wall Street forecasts.Chicago-based UAL Corp, parent of United Airlines, said earnings rose a better-than-expected 17 per cent to $3.47 a share, on a fully distributed basis, before one-time items, as passenger demand outpaced higher fuel costs and some operational stumbles.
Revenues rose 13 per cent, to $5.11 billion, from $4.54 billion a year earlier.
But the company, which in May agreed to buy No. 6 US Airline US Airways Group Inc, also said that recent strong passenger trends would diminish slightly in the third quarter, and earnings for the rest of the year would be below expectations due to lower capacity levels caused by schedule reductions, flight cancellations, and higher wages.
The shares were down 6-1/8, to 53-1/8, in afternoon trading on the NYSE.
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