Major airlines Q4 earnings American Airlines DALLAS (AP) =97American Airlines' parent AMR Corp. said it lost $3.39 per=20 share for the three months ended Dec. 31 compared with a net loss of $798=20 million, or $5.17 per share, a year earlier. Revenue rose to $4.19 billion= =20 from $3.80 billion a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call= =20 expected AMR would lose $3.73 a share for the quarter. For 2002, the=20 company lost $3.5 billion, or $22.57 per share, compared with a 2001 net=20 loss of $1.8 billion, or $11.43 per share. Revenue fell to $17.3 billion=20 from $19 billion in 2001. For Fort Worth-based American, which is losing=20 millions of dollars each day and must borrow to meet payroll, such=20 financial results are "unsustainable," said Don Carty, AMR chairman and=20 chief executive. Continental Airlines HOUSTON (AP) =97 Among air carriers battered in the wake of terrorist=20 attacks, Continental Airlines reported earnings losses for the fourth=20 quarter and full year. The Houston-based carrier lost $109 million, or=20 $1.67 per share, a 27 percent improvement when compared with a shortfall of= =20 $149 million for the same period in 2001. Analysts had expected the airline= =20 to lose $1.97 per share, according to Thomson First Call. For the full=20 year, Continental's loss was $451 million, or $7.02 per share, compared=20 with a loss of $95 million for all of 2001. The 2002 figure included a $264= =20 million pretax charge for fleet disposition and impairment. Delta Air Lines ATLANTA =97 Delta Air Lines, citing the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the= =20 slumping economy, said it lost $1.3 billion last year, but beat Wall Street= =20 expectations when unusual items are excluded. For the three months ended=20 Dec. 31, the nation's third-largest carrier reported a net loss of $363=20 million, or $2.98 a share. It lost $1.3 billion, or $10.44 a share, for the= =20 year. Excluding unusual items, Delta lost $230 million, or $1.90 a share,=20 in the fourth quarter and $958 million, or $7.89 a share, for the year.=20 That compares to a loss of $486 million, or $3.97 a share, during the=20 fourth quarter 2001 and $1.03 billion, or $8.46 a share, for that year.=20 Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call were expecting Atlanta-based Delta= =20 to lose $2.27 a share for the quarter and $8.29 a share for the year. Northwest Airlines EAGAN, Minn. =97 Northwest Airlines reported a fourth-quarter loss of $488= =20 million, saying the weak economy and reduced travel spending made it=20 difficult to predict when the company might return to profitability. The=20 loss was equivalent to $5.68 per share, compared with a loss of $216=20 million, or $2.55 per share in the same quarter a year earlier. Revenue for= =20 the quarter rose 18% to $2.34 billion, compared with $1.99 billion a year=20 ago. Excluding unusual items, Northwest said it lost $178 million, or $2.08= =20 per share. On that basis, analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call predicted= =20 a loss of $2.14 per share. Southwest Airlines DALLAS (Reuters) =97 Low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines on Wednesday once= =20 again bucked the trend in the money-losing U.S. airline industry,=20 continuing its 30-year string of unbroken profits. But the airline, the=20 pioneer in offering customers low fares, said it could not guarantee a=20 profit in the first quarter of 2003 as war with Iraq looms and demand for=20 air travel continues to slump. If Southwest did lose money in the first=20 quarter, it would be the first time in 30 years. The Dallas-based carrier, the No. 7 U.S. airline, reported that quarterly=20 earnings dropped by about one-third to $42.4 million, or 5 cents per share= =20 in the fourth quarter, compared with $63.5 million, or 8 cents a share, a=20 year earlier. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Site of the Week: http://www.atlanticlng.com TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************