Shares of the airline, Delta Airlines (NYSE: DAL) inched up higher in pre-market trading on Thursday after an upbeat forecast as the airliner expects earnings in the fiscal second (June) quarter to be between $2 and $2.25 per share, higher than consensus forecasts of $1.64. For FY23, EPS is anticipated to be in the range of $5 to $6 versus consensus estimates of $5.37.
DAL has projected its revenues in the June quarter to grow in the range of 15% to 17% while they are projected to rise between 15% and 20% in FY23.
Ed Bastian, Delta’s CEO commented, “With solid March quarter profitability and a strong outlook for the June quarter, we are confident in our full-year guidance for revenue growth of 15 to 20 percent year over year, earnings of $5 to $6 per share and free cash flow of over $2 billion.”
In Q1, the airliner posted operating revenues of $12.8 billion, a jump of 36% year-over-year versus analysts’ estimates of around $12 billion. Adjusted earnings came in at $0.25 per share versus a loss of $1.23 in the same period last year but fell short of consensus estimates of $0.29 per share.
DAL stock scores a Strong Buy consensus rating from Wall Street analysts with 10 unanimous Buys.
