United Continental Holdings Inc (NYSE: UAL) reported better-than-expected earnings for its second quarter.
UAL reported second-quarter net income of $684 million, diluted earnings per share of $2.48, pre-tax earnings of $857 million and pre-tax margin of 8%
Excluding special charges and mark-to-market adjustments, UAL reported second-quarter net income of $889 million, diluted earnings per share of $3.23, pre-tax earnings of $1.1 billion and pre-tax margin of 10.4%
A news release out Wednesday morning also pointed out that the airline parent company repurchased $407 million of its common shares in the second quarter. It also states that UAL now expects full-year 2018 diluted earnings per share, excluding special charges and mark-to-market adjustments, to be $7.25 to $8.75
United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz, "We delivered great financial results and strong operational performance in the second quarter despite the significant headwind of higher fuel prices.
"These results are the strongest evidence yet that our strategic growth plan is working, and we are well positioned to carry our momentum into the second half of the year."
United Airlines and United Express operate approximately 4,600 flights a day to 357 airports across five continents. In 2017, United and United Express operated more than 1.6 million flights carrying more than 148 million customers.
United is proud to have the world's most comprehensive route network, including U.S. mainland hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Newark/New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. United operates 757 mainline aircraft and the airline's United Express carriers operate 551 regional aircraft.
Shares in UAL took flight $3.54, or 4.9%, to $76.16 Wednesday morning.
