=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SFGate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/news/archive/2004/04/21/f= inancial0955EDT0057.DTL --------------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday, April 21, 2004 (AP) Northwest shrinks first-quarter loss, renews call for concessions JOSHUA FREED, AP Business Writer (04-21) 06:55 PDT MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Northwest Airlines reported a narrower first-quarter loss of $230 millio= n, as higher fuel costs offset rising passenger revenue. For the quarter ended March 31, Northwest said Wednesday it lost $2.67 p= er share, compared with $4.62 a share, or $396 million, a year earlier. The results were 3 cents a share worse than the consensus $2.64 a share loss estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call. Revenue for the first three months of the year increased to $2.6 billion, up 9.6 percent from $2.38 billion a year ago. The company said the loss would have been $318 million if severance and accelerated pension costs were counted. Similar to other major carriers, Northwest has incurred massive losses f= or three years running. At the end of the quarter, the company said it had $3.1 billion in cash, $2.9 billion of which is unrestricted. "We still face the same challenge. Our costs remain higher than the revenues we generate," chief executive Richard Anderson said, adding that the airline won't be make money without concessions from its unions. The company has been seeking to reduce its overall labor costs by nearly $1 billion a year, but its unions have been cool to concessions. The pilot's union is offering concessions of $200 million a year -- if Northwest management takes cuts in salaries and benefits, too. Northwest managers had sought $442 million in pilot concessions. The union representing ground workers has an open contract but is seeking raises. Contracts with flight attendants and mechanics don't open for renewal until 2005, and those unions have declined to start talks early. In early trading, shares of Northwest declined by 40 cents to $9.95 on t= he Nasdaq Stock Market. On the Net: Northwest Airlines: www.nwa.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2004 AP