United Airlines swings to a loss of £970 million in Q1 of 2021

United Airlines Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: UAL) said on Monday it swung to a loss of £970 million in the first quarter of 2021. Executives, however, expressed confidence that performance will recover in the upcoming months as several international countries start to allow passengers that have already received the COVID-19 vaccine.  

United Airlines’ shares were reported a little under 2% down in extended trading on Monday. The stock is now exchanging hands at £38.61 per share. In comparison, the airline had started the year at a per-share price of a lower £29.76. The price action should come in handy if you are interested in investing in the stock market.

United Airlines’ Q1 financial results versus analysts’ estimates

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On a per-share basis, United Airlines lost £3.07 in the first quarter. The air carrier reported £2.30 billion of revenue in Q1, compared to a sharply higher £5.71 billion of revenue in the same quarter last year.

The massive decline in revenue, as per United Airlines, was attributed to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic that has so far infected more than 140 million people worldwide and caused over 3 million deaths.

On an adjusted basis, the Chicago-based company noted £5.36 of loss per share in the first quarter versus the year-ago figure of a significantly lower £1.84 of per-share loss. In separate news from the United States, M&T Bank also published its financial results for the first quarter on Monday.

According to FactSet, experts had forecast the company to post £2.33 billion of sales in Q1. Their estimate for adjusted per-share loss was capped at a lower £5.06. Earlier in April, United Airlines said it will soon start hiring hundreds of pilots.

United Airlines’ official statement on Monday

United Airlines further highlighted on Monday that its core cash flow was positive in March. The air carrier said:

“United is already moving to capitalize on emerging pent-up demand for travel to countries where vaccinated travellers are welcome. In fact, the company announced new international flying to Greece, Iceland and Croatia earlier today, subject to government approval. These opportunistic steps help position United to return to positive net income even if business and long-haul international demand only returns to about 35% below 2019 levels.”

United Airlines performed largely downbeat in the stock market last year with an annual decline of roughly 50%. At the time of writing, it is valued at £12.72 billion.