UPDATE: United Continental Q4 Profit Misses Expectations

reported weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings. The Chicago, Illinois-based company posted a quarterly net profit of $28 million, or $0.07 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $140 million, or $0.37 per share. Excluding non-recurring items, United Continental's adjusted earnings came in at $1.20 per share, versus analysts' estimates of $1.22 per share. Its revenue slipped 0.2% to $9.31 billion. Passenger load factor shrank to 81.6% from 82.3%. Consolidated passenger revenue rose 1.3% to $8.1 billion, while cargo revenue climbed 18.2% to $260 million. United Continental ended the year with $5.7 billion in unrestricted liquidity. Jeff Smisek, UAL's chairman, president and chief executive officer said, "We're starting 2015 as a better airline, and we expect to generate far better results. I'm excited about what we will do this year to improve our operations, our product, and our customer service, focusing on growing our core earnings and margins. For the first quarter, we expect our pre-tax margin to be between 5 and 7 percent, excluding special items." United Continental shares rose 1.73% to close at $69.21 yesterday.