United Airlines posts record quarterly profit

NEW YORK (AFP) – United Airlines parent United Continental reported Thursday third-quarter profit a bit below estimates and said the strong dollar had hurt revenues but helped lower operating costs.

The US airline has hit turbulence in top management since early September, but acting chief executive Brett Hart, who took over on Monday after CEO Oscar Muñoz suffered a heart attack last week, said that management would continue Muñoz's ''laser-like focus'' on improving customer service and operational reliability.

Hart, in a conference call, said the company scored record profits for the third straight quarter.

''There would be no dramatic change'' from Muñoz's agenda, he said. The company has not revealed how long Muñoz, 56, would be on medical leave after his heart attack.

Muñoz had only been CEO since September 8, when United Continental tapped the president and chief operating officer of rail operator CSX after the abrupt ouster of Jeff Smisek amid a federal probe of dealings with the New York regional transportation authority.

United said it faces a buoyant fourth quarter, when pre-tax profit margin was projected to climb as much as 11.5 percent. Hart, previously United's executive vice president and general counsel, thanked employees for their hard work in producing another successful quarter.

''With Oscar Muñoz on medical leave, this leadership team and I are working to push forward the agenda we laid out over the past six weeks by focusing on our employees, improving our processes and investing in our systems to further improve our margins,'' Hart said in a statement.

''The United family has had a challenging few weeks, but we have never felt more unified and are committed to making the right investments in our people and providing them the tools they need to deliver excellent service to our customers.''

For the third quarter, the US airline had net income of $4.82 billion, compared with $924 million in the 2014 third quarter.

However, the more than fourfold increase was due to a one-off tax benefit. Excluding it, net income was $1.62 billion. Adjusted earnings per share was $4.53, two cents below the consensus analyst estimate.

Revenues for the July-September quarter fell 2.4 percent to $10.31 billion, under pressure from the strong dollar and business travel cutbacks in the energy sector that particularly hit United's Houston, Texas hub.

At the same time, the strong dollar and lower fuel prices helped pare total operating expenses by about 10 percent, the Chicago-based company said.

United is the world's fourth-largest airline by passengers carried, according to the International Air Transport Association.

United Continental said it expected to complete its $1-billion share buyback program by the end of the year.