AMR Corp. handed investors an unhappy surprise Wednesday by announcing a loss that was even worse than the bad results that Wall Street had expected.
The parent of American Airlines Inc. said it lost $286 million, or 85 cents a share, on revenue of $6.11 billion in the second quarter. A year earlier, it lost $11 million, or 3 cents a share, on $5.67 billion in revenue.
The consensus among analysts was that AMR would lose 75 cents a share, or about $251 million.
The airline largely blamed rising fuel expenses for the worsening results.
"This is clearly a disappointing result, and despite all of our efforts to improve our results, the loss this quarter highlights the immediate challenge we continue to face as a result of sharply higher fuel prices," AMR chairman and chief executive Gerard Arpey told analysts on a conference call.
Arpey noted that higher prices raised American's fuel bill nearly $525 million in the second quarter compared with a year earlier, even after a $135 million gain from fuel hedging.
The large loss was almost overwhelmed by AMR's other announcements Wednesday, including an agreement to buy 460 airplanes and its decision to spin off its American Eagle operation.
Barring surprises over the next few weeks, AMR is expected to be the only major U.S. airline company to report a loss in the second quarter, traditionally one of the industry's strongest.
Three other airlines are expected to report sizable profits Thursday when they release their results for the three months ending June 30.
United Continental Holdings Inc., parent of United Airlines Inc. and Continental Airlines Inc., is projected to earn $1.47 a share, or about $485 million.
Alaska Air Group Inc. is expected to earn $2.44 a share, or about $88 million. And analysts expect US Airways Group Inc. to report earnings of 61 cents a share, or close to $100 million.
Delta Air Lines Inc. and JetBlue Airways Corp. will release their results next week, and Southwest Airlines Co. will report on Aug. 4.
AMR shares closed down 1 cent to $4.92 in New York Stock Exchange trading Wednesday.
