Continental Air posts $149 million loss Wednesday January 16, 7:01 AM EST (Adds further details, background) HOUSTON, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Continental Airlines (CAL), the fifth-largest U.S. carrier, on Wednesday reported a fourth-quarter loss despite $174 million in federal bailout money that followed last year's attacks on the United States. Continental, one of the few airlines to report profits in 2001, reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $149 million, or $2.58 per diluted share, including the government payments, compared with a profit of $44 million or 70 cents per diluted share, a year earlier. Excluding special items, the airline reported a loss of $220 million, or $3.81 per share. A year earlier, Continental reported a profit of $38 million or 61 cents per share, excluding one-time items. Wall Street analysts expected the airline to report a loss ranging from $6 to $3.85 per share with a consensus loss of $4.49 per share, according to research firm Thomson Financial/First Call. Continental's revenues fell more than 28 percent to $1.74 billion from $2.43 billion a year earlier. The airline also said it is in talks with commercial airline maker Boeing (BA) to defer some firm aircraft orders due for delivery between 2002 and 2005. Continental said it ended the quarter with $1.13 billion in cash. U.S. airlines, battered by the lingering economic slump and slowdown in lucrative business travel, have trimmed their fleets and slashed fares to lure wary passengers back to the skies after the attacks. Analysts expect U.S. carriers to post an annual loss ranging from $6 billion to $8 billion, though a recent drop in oil prices and a steady return of air traffic have eased industry woes. Continental Airlines, which was losing between $3 million to $4 million a day in November, has said it expects to break even by March after reporting a loss in the first-quarter. Most analysts are expecting an industry turn-around by late 2002. Continental shares, which closed Tuesday trading at $29.39 on the New York Stock Exchange, have lost about 42 percent over the year compared to the benchmark American Stock Exchange Airline Index (XAL) which is down 43 percent.