Investing.com -- American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL) has unveiled a forecast for full-year adjusted earnings per share that topped analyst estimates, as the U.S. carrier predicted that it would receive a boost from solid passenger booking trends and a decline in fuel prices.
The Texas-based company said it expects annual 2024 adjusted earnings per diluted share to be between $2.25 to $3.25, above Bloomberg consensus projections of $2.22.
In a statement, American added that the guidance was partly based on "present" customer demand. Available seat miles, a measure of an airline's carrying capacity, grew by 5.8% in the three months ended on Dec. 31 to a higher-than-anticipated mark of 69.77 billion, thanks in part to solid operational momentum through the key holiday travel period. Capacity is seen rising in the "mid-single digits" year-over-year in 2024.
Meanwhile, American is forecasting average jet fuel expenses of $2.50 to $2.75 per gallon this year, suggesting a potential decrease from $2.96 a gallon in 2023.
Shares in the firm rose in premarket U.S. trading on Thursday.
Despite the upbeat outlook for the current 12-month period, American flagged that it expects to post an adjusted diluted per-share loss of $0.15 and $0.35 in the first quarter. Partly weighing on the bottom-line number is quarterly total revenue per available seat mile, which is seen falling by as much as 5.5% versus the corresponding period last year.
Expenses are also anticipated to rise by 2% to 4% during the quarter, reflecting the impact of higher wage rates related to a collective bargaining agreement reached with mainline pilots in August 2023. When normalizing for the costs of the deal, American expects the measure to be "approximately flat."
Chief Executive Robert Isom said in a statement that the firm was coming off an "exceptionally strong performance" in 2023, highlighting the benefits of its travel rewards program and "operational reliability." Annual revenue at American increased by 7.8% to a record $52.79 billion, while operating income jumped by almost 89% to $3.03 billion.
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