Delta Air Lines announces December quarter and full year 2022 profit

• Generated double-digit operating margin in December quarter with EPS ahead of guidance
• Expect March quarter revenue to accelerate further relative to 2019
• Reiterating outlook for significant earnings and cash flow growth in 2023, including EPS of $5 – $6 and free cash flow of more than $2 billion

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) today reported financial results for the December quarter and full year 2022 and provided its outlook for the March quarter 2023. Highlights of the December quarter and full year 2022 results, including both GAAP and adjusted metrics, are on page five of the full release and are incorporated here.

"Delta people rose to the challenges of 2022, delivering industry-leading operational reliability and financial performance, and I’m looking forward to recognizing their achievements with over $500 million in profit sharing payments next month," said Ed Bastian, Delta’s chief executive officer.  "As we move into 2023, the industry backdrop for air travel remains favorable, and Delta is well positioned to deliver significant earnings and free cash flow growth. We expect to grow 2023 revenue by 15-20% and improve unit costs year-over-year, supporting a full-year outlook for earnings of $5 to $6 per share and keeping us on track to achieve more than $7 of earnings per share in 2024."

DECEMBER QUARTER 2022 GAAP FINANCIAL RESULTS

• Operating revenue of $13.4 billion
• Operating income of $1.5 billion with an operating margin of 10.9%
• Pre-tax income of $1.1 billion with a pre-tax margin of 8.3%
• Earnings per share of $1.29
• Operating cash flow of $1.2 billion
• Payments on debt and finance lease obligations of $285 million

DECEMBER QUARTER 2022 ADJUSTED FINANCIAL RESULTS

• Operating revenue of $12.3 billion, 8% higher than the December quarter 2019
• Operating income of $1.4 billion with an operating margin of 11.6%
• Pre-tax income of $1.2 billion with a pre-tax margin of 10.1%
• Earnings per share of $1.48
• Operating cash flow of $1.2 billion

FULL YEAR 2022 GAAP FINANCIAL RESULTS 

• Operating revenue of $50.6 billion
• Operating income of $3.7 billion with an operating margin of 7.2%
• Pre-tax income of $1.9 billion with a pre-tax margin of 3.8%
• Earnings per share of $2.06
• Operating cash flow of $6.4 billion
• Payments on debt and finance lease obligations of $4.5 billion
• Total debt and finance lease obligations of $23.0 billion at year end

FULL YEAR 2022 ADJUSTED FINANCIAL RESULTS 

• Operating revenue of $45.6 billion, 2% lower than the full year 2019
• Operating income of $3.6 billion with an operating margin of 7.8%
• Pre-tax income of $2.7 billion with a pre-tax margin of 5.9%
• Earnings per share of $3.20
• Operating cash flow of $6.2 billion
• Free cash flow of $244 million
• $9.4 billion in liquidity* and adjusted net debt of $22.3 billion at year end

*Includes cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments and undrawn revolving credit facilities

Read the full release on PR Newswire or via download.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

Statements made in this press release that are not historical facts, including statements regarding our estimates, expectations, beliefs, intentions, projections, goals, aspirations, commitments or strategies for the future, should be considered “forward-looking statements” under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are not guarantees or promised outcomes and should not be construed as such. All forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the estimates, expectations, beliefs, intentions, projections, goals, aspirations, commitments and strategies reflected in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the material adverse effect that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on our business; the impact of incurring significant debt in response to the pandemic; failure to comply with the financial and other covenants in our financing agreements; the possible effects of accidents involving our aircraft or aircraft of our airline partners; breaches or lapses in the security of technology systems on which we rely and of the data stored within them, as well as compliance with ever-evolving global privacy and security regulatory obligations; disruptions in our information technology infrastructure; our dependence on technology in our operations; our commercial relationships with airlines in other parts of the world and the investments we have in certain of those airlines; the effects of a significant disruption in the operations or performance of third parties on which we rely; failure to realize the full value of intangible or long-lived assets; labor issues; the effects of weather, natural disasters and seasonality on our business; changes in the cost of aircraft fuel; extended disruptions in the supply of aircraft fuel, including from Monroe Energy, LLC (“Monroe”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Delta; failure or inability of insurance to cover a significant liability at Monroe’s Trainer refinery; failure to comply with existing and future environmental regulations to which Monroe’s refinery operations are subject, including costs related to compliance with renewable fuel standard regulations; our ability to retain senior management and other key employees, and to maintain our company culture; significant damage to our reputation and brand, including from exposure to significant adverse publicity or inability to achieve certain sustainability goals; the effects of terrorist attacks, geopolitical conflict or security events; competitive conditions in the airline industry; extended interruptions or disruptions in service at major airports at which we operate or significant problems associated with types of aircraft or engines we operate; the effects of extensive government regulation we are subject to; the impact of environmental regulation, including but not limited to increased regulation to reduce emissions and other risks associated with climate change, and the cost of compliance with more stringent environmental regulations; and unfavorable economic or political conditions in the markets in which we operate or volatility in currency exchange rates.

Additional information concerning risks and uncertainties that could cause differences between actual results and forward-looking statements is contained in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 and our Quarterly Reports on Forms 10-Q for the quarterly period ended June 30, 2022. Caution should be taken not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements, which represent our views only as of the date of this press release, and which we undertake no obligation to update except to the extent required by law.