American Airlines Group Inc. AAL shares,
skyrocketed 54.5% toward an 11-month high in Thursday’s pre-market after the airline reported a less-than-expected loss in the fourth quarter, and revenue and occupancy rates that exceeded expectations. The company posted a net loss of $ 2.18 billion, or $ 3.81 per share, from a net profit of $ 414 million, or 95 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted loss per share was $ 3.86, exceeding FactSet’s loss consensus of $ 4.11. Revenue fell 64% to $ 4.03 billion, but surpassed FactSet’s consensus of $ 3.88 billion. The occupancy rate fell from 84.7% to 63.4%, above the FactSet consensus of 62.9%, as traffic decreased 66.7% while capacity fell 55.4%. The daily cash consumption rate during the quarter was $ 30 million, which compares to almost $ 100 million in April. The company expects to end the first quarter with $ 15.0 billion in total available liquidity. “Looking ahead to 2021, it will be a year of recovery,” said Chief Executive Doug Parker. “Although we don’t know exactly when passenger demand will return, as vaccine distribution is established and travel restrictions are lifted, we will be ready.” Shares rose 51.2% in the last three months through Wednesday, while the US Global Jets ETF JETS,
rose 29.5% and the S&P 500 SPX,
gained 14.7%.
