=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/2004/04/27/f= inancial1024EDT0065.DTL --------------------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday, April 27, 2004 (AP) US Airways loses $177 million but revenue increases MATTHEW BARAKAT, AP Business Writer (04-27) 07:24 PDT ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) -- US Airways lost $177 million in the first three months of 2004 despite an 11 percent increase in revenue over the year-ago quarter, and the airline's new president again warned of the need to cut costs to survive. The $3.28-per-share loss compares with a profit of $1.64 billion, or $24.02 per share, in the first quarter of 2003. But the year ago profit was merely a paper tiger associated with the company's emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March of that year. The company's operating loss of $143 million in the first three months of this year is a 31 percent improvement over the $207 million operating loss in the year-ago quarter. The losses were also better than the estimated loss of $3.65 a share predicted by a Wall Street analyst surveyed by Thomson First Call. Operating revenue increased 11 percent, from $1.53 million to $1.70 million, while operating costs increased 6 percent, from $1.74 billion to $1.84 billion. The airline improved its performance on several key measures in the industry, including cost per available seat mile, which dropped 3 percent quarter to quarter for mainline jets, to 11.68 cents per seat mile, including fuel. The improvement was even better excluding fuel, because fuel costs increased by nearly 10 percent. But the airline has warned its unions that even more dramatic cost cuts are necessary to compete with increased competition from low-fare carriers like Southwest Airlines, which boast costs in the range of just 6 cents per available seat mile. "Our results underscore the need for further changes," said US Airways President and chief executive Bruce R. Lakefield. "While we are seeing year-over-year improvement, we clearly have more to do to ensure long-term success, and we must implement a new cost structure and a revenue plan that allows us to return to profitability." Mainline revenue per available seat mile also increased 2 percent, from $10.41 to $10.62. US Airways shares increased 11 cents, or 4.6 percent, to $2.50 in early trading Tuesday on the Nasdaq Stock Market. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2004 AP