US carrier Delta Air Lines reported a substantial return to profit in its fourth-quarter and full-year results for 2022 announced today.
Delta recorded an operating profit of $3.66 billion for the year and net profit after tax of $1.318 billion after operating revenue reached almost $51 billion.
Its annual profit for 2022 remained barely 30% of the $4.77 billion post-tax profit the airline reported for 2019, with operating income just over half of the pre-pandemic level.
But Delta’s operating profit of $1.47 billion for October to December exceeded that for the same period in 2019 and its net profit for the quarter of $828 million reached 75% of the 2019 level.
This was despite a 66% increase in the fuel price over the last pre-pandemic year.
The carrier forecast its revenue in the current quarter would “accelerate further” on 2019.
Delta chief executive Ed Bastian hailed the airline’s “industry-leading financial performance” and announced the airline’s employees will receive more than $500 million in profit-sharing payments next month.
He argued the outlook for air travel “remains favourable” and said: “We expect to grow 2023 revenue by 15%-20% and improve unit costs year over year.”
Bastian forecast Delta’s profits for 2023 would increase by up to 200% and for 2024 by 250% on 2022.
The airline paid off $4.5 billion in debt in the year, leaving it with net debt of $23 billion and $9.4 billion in liquidity.
Delta is scheduled to operate at 99% of its 2019 capacity in the first quarter of this year.
Bastian described consumer demand as “robust”, with international passenger revenue up 5% on 2019’s level in the December quarter and US domestic revenue up 7%.
Transatlantic revenue was up even more at 17% in the quarter. However Delta’s revenue across the Pacific remained 35% down on 2019 as the market to and from China remained closed.
The carrier described corporate bookings as “steady”, having recovered to 80% of the 2019 level in the last quarter of the year.
Yet Delta’s premium cabin revenue was up 13% in the quarter versus 2019, compared with 5% across its economy cabin revenue.
Delta chief financial officer Dan Janki added: “In 2023, we’re confident in completing our network rebuild.
“We made significant progress restoring our financial foundation in 2022. This enabled us to pay down over $4.5 billion of gross debt during the year. We expect to further reduce debt in 2024.”