DeltaAir Lines announces December quarter and full year 2021 financial results

picture credit: Cargo newswire

December quarter 2021 GAAP pre-tax loss of $395 million, pre-tax margin of (4.2) percent and loss per share of $0.64 on total operating revenue of $9.5 billion

December quarter 2021 adjusted pre-tax income of $170 million, adjusted pre-tax margin of 2.0 percent and adjusted earnings per diluted share of $0.22 on adjusted operating revenue of $8.4 billion

Full year 2021 GAAP pre-tax income of $398 million, on total operating revenue of $29.9 billion

Full year 2021 adjusted pre-tax loss of $3.4 billion on adjusted operating revenue of $26.7 billion

ATLANTA, Jan. 13, 2022 – Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) today reported financial results for the December quarter and full year 2021 and provided its outlook for the March quarter 2022. Highlights of the December quarter and full year 2021 results, including both GAAP and adjusted metrics, are on page five and are incorporated here.

“2021was a year like no other for Delta, with significant progress in our recovery supported by growing brand preference, enabling us to be the only major U.S. airline to deliver profitability across the second half of the year,” said Ed Bastian, Delta’s chief executive officer. “As always, our people drove this success, which is why we were happy to announce this morning a special profit-sharing payment for all eligible employees."

“While the rapidly spreading omicron variant has significantly impacted staffing levels and disrupted travel across the industry, Delta’s operation has stabilized over the last week and returned to pre-holiday performance,” Bastian said. “Omicron is expected to temporarily delay the demand recovery 60 days, but as we look past the peak, we are confident in a strong spring and summer travel season with significant pent-up demand for consumer and business travel.”

December Quarter 2021 Financial Results

• Adjusted pre-tax income of $170 million excludes a net impact of $564 million primarily in equity method losses, mark-to-market adjustments on investments and special profit-sharing payment

• Adjusted operating revenue of $8.4 billion, which excludes third-party refinery sales, was 74 percent recovered versus December quarter 2019 on capacity that was 79 percent restored

• Total operating expense decreased $833 million compared to the December quarter 2019. Adjusted for costs from third-party refinery sales, total operating expense decreased $1.9 billion or 19% percent in the December quarter 2021 versus the comparable 2019 period

• Remuneration from American Express in the quarter was $1.2 billion, up 11 percent compared to the December quarter 2019

• At the end of the December quarter, the company had $14.2 billion in liquidity, including cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments and undrawn revolving credit facilities

 Full Year 2021 Financial Results

• Adjusted pre-tax loss of $3.4 billion excludes a net benefit of $3.8 billion from items primarily related to the Payroll Support Programs (PSP), partially offset by equity method losses, debt extinguishment charges and special profit-sharing payment

• Generated a pre-tax profit of $1.1 billion in the second half of 2021. Excluding PSP, mark-to-market adjustments, equity method losses and debt extinguishment charges reported an adjusted pre-tax profit of $386 million in the second half of 2021

• Adjusted operating revenue of $26.7 billion, which excludes third-party refinery sales, was 57 percent recovered versus full year 2019 on capacity that was 71 percent restored

• Total operating expense, which includes $4.5 billion of benefit related to PSP, decreased $12.4 billion compared to 2019. Adjusted for the benefits related to PSP and costs from third-party refinery sales, total operating expense, adjusted decreased $10.9 billion or 27 percent versus 2019

• Remuneration from American Express for full year 2021 was $4.0 billion, 98 percent restored compared to full year 2019

• Invested $2.9 billion back in the business and reduced financial obligations by $7 billion, including fully funding the pension plans on a Pension Protection Act (PPA) basis

• The company had total debt and finance lease obligations of $26.9 billion with adjusted net debt of $20.6 billion at the end of December 2021