Northwest quarterly loss more than doubles to $396 million CHICAGO (Reuters) =97 Northwest Airlines announced Wednesday that its=20 quarterly loss more than doubled to $396 million, partly on war-weakened=20 demand, adding to what analysts expect will be one of the worst quarters in= =20 aviation history. The war in Iraq and the spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or=20 SARS, have further hammered worldwide travel that had not recovered from=20 the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. "While Northwest Airlines continued to manage= =20 its costs aggressively during the quarter, the travel downturn that began=20 some two years ago has further deteriorated due to the war, and shows no=20 signs of improving," Chief Executive Richard Anderson said in a statement.= =20 Northwest, the No. 4 U.S. air carrier, said the loss amounted to $4.62 per= =20 share in the first quarter compared with a net loss of $171 million or=20 $2.01 per share a year earlier. Operating revenue rose 3.2 percent to $2.25= =20 billion. Northwest, based in Eagan, Minnesota, cut its schedule by 12=20 percent and announced 4,900 temporary job cuts because of the war, taking a= =20 pretax charge of $78 million in the quarter. Excluding those charges,=20 Northwest reported a loss of $318 million, or $3.71 per share. Analysts'=20 mean estimate, which excludes charges, forecast Northwest reporting a loss= =20 of $4.75 per share for the quarter, according to Thomson First Call. The=20 estimates, from more than a dozen analysts, ranged from a loss of $4.15 a=20 share to a loss of $5.65. The consensus estimate had dropped in recent days= =20 as analysts downward revised forecasts. "They did a little bit better than= =20 expectations, but expectations are so low that it wasn't hard to beat,"=20 said Ray Neidl, Blaylock & Partners airline analyst. MORE CUTS TO COME Northwest has completed six rounds of cost cutting. The airline has been in= =20 talks since early 2003 with leadership of its main unions to reduce labor=20 costs further to compete with low-fare carriers and match cuts that other=20 large carriers are making. "In light of the cost adjustments made at many of our competitors, it is=20 imperative that we reduce our labor expenses so that we can restore=20 Northwest to profitability," Anderson said. Analysts have forecast industry= =20 operating losses of about $3.0 billion to $3.5 billion for the quarter. The= =20 first two reported results suggest total losses closer to about $3.2=20 billion, Neidl said. Continental Airlines on Tuesday reported a $221=20 million first-quarter loss, citing the war for raising fuel prices and=20 increasing costs while weakening travel demand and leaving revenue flat.=20 Continental's losses were also less than analysts' mean estimate. Delta Air= =20 Lines is set to report results on Thursday, while American Airlines parent= =20 AMR Corp. is scheduled to report next week. Northwest's unit cost rose 5.2 percent in the quarter from a year earlier,= =20 mainly because of increased fuel prices and other items. Unit cost,=20 measured in operating cost per seat mile, are a standard industry measure.= =20 The airline ended the quarter with $2.34 billion total cash, $2.15 billion= =20 of it unrestricted. Northwest shares were off 12 cents at $7.30 in early=20 trading on the Nasdaq. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx 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.carstt.com TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************