Delta sees 'meaningful' full-year profit on resilient consumer demand

Delta Wednesday forecast a “meaningful” profit for the full-year as robust travel demand helped it post its strongest quarterly earnings since the start of the pandemic. The Atlanta-based carrier expects a solid profit in the third quarter as well, with operating margin estimated to be in the range of 11%-13%. The No 3. US airline by fleet size said there is no evidence of a pullback in consumer demand. It reported an adjusted profit of $1.44 per share for Q2. That was below analysts’ expectations of $1.73 per share, according to Refinitiv, yet still marked the carrier’s best performance since 2019. Revenue for the quarter through June came in at $13.8b, topping Wall Street estimates. “This is an industry that hasn’t seen demand in a material way for two years, and so we have a lot of consumers with a tremendous urge and desire to travel,” CE Ed Bastian said. American carriers are enjoying the strongest summer travel season in three years as more people resume regular activities including vacations, and the lifting of pandemic travel restrictions has sent bookings soaring. International traffic is on a rebound, while office reopenings are fueling corporate travel demand. US passenger traffic is up 18% this summer from a year ago and has been averaging about 89% of the pre-pandemic levels since the Memorial Day holiday weekend in May, according to Transportation Security Administration data, making for a profitable second-quarter for most of the major carriers despite inflationary pressure. Rival American Airlines on Tuesday forecast its first quarterly profit since the onset of the pandemic.<br/>