Delta Air Lines announces December quarter and full year 2021 financial results

• December quarter 2021 GAAP pre-tax loss of $395 million, pre-tax margin of (4.2) percent and loss per share of $0.64 on total operating revenue of $9.5 billion
• December quarter 2021 adjusted pre-tax income of $170 million, adjusted pre-tax margin of 2.0 percent and adjusted earnings per diluted share of $0.22 on adjusted operating revenue of $8.4 billion
• Full year 2021 GAAP pre-tax income of $398 million, on total operating revenue of $29.9 billion
• Full year 2021 adjusted pre-tax loss of $3.4 billion on adjusted operating revenue of $26.7 billion

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) on Thursday reported financial results for the December quarter and full year 2021 and provided its outlook for the March quarter 2022. Highlights of the December quarter and full year 2021 results, including both GAAP and adjusted metrics, are on page five of the full press release.

“2021 was a year like no other for Delta, with significant progress in our recovery supported by growing brand preference, enabling us to be the only major U.S. airline to deliver profitability across the second half of the year,” said Ed Bastian, Delta’s chief executive officer.  “As always, our people drove this success, which is why we were happy to announce this morning a special profit-sharing payment for all eligible employees.”

“While the rapidly spreading omicron variant has significantly impacted staffing levels and disrupted travel across the industry, Delta’s operation has stabilized over the last week and returned to pre-holiday performance,” Bastian said. “Omicron is expected to temporarily delay the demand recovery 60 days, but as we look past the peak, we are confident in a strong spring and summer travel season with significant pent-up demand for consumer and business travel.”

DECEMBER QUARTER 2021 FINANCIAL RESULTS

• Adjusted pre-tax income of $170 million excludes a net impact of $564 million primarily in equity method losses, mark-to-market adjustments on investments and special profit-sharing payment
• Adjusted operating revenue of $8.4 billion, which excludes third-party refinery sales, was 74% recovered versus December quarter 2019 on capacity that was 79% restored
• Total operating expense decreased $833 million compared to the December quarter 2019. Adjusted for costs from third-party refinery sales, total operating expense decreased $1.9 billion or 19% in the December quarter 2021 versus the comparable 2019 period
• Remuneration from American Express in the quarter was $1.2 billion, up 11% compared to the December quarter 2019
• At the end of the December quarter, the company had $14.2 billion in liquidity, including cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments and undrawn revolving credit facilities

FULL YEAR 2021 FINANCIAL RESULTS

• Adjusted pre-tax loss of $3.4 billion excludes a net benefit of $3.8 billion from items primarily related to the Payroll Support Programs (PSP), partially offset by equity method losses, debt extinguishment charges and special profit-sharing payment
• Generated a pre-tax profit of $1.1 billion in the second half of 2021. Excluding PSP, mark-to-market adjustments, equity method losses and debt extinguishment charges reported an adjusted pre-tax profit of $386 million in the second half of 2021
• Adjusted operating revenue of $26.7 billion, which excludes third-party refinery sales, was 57% recovered versus full year 2019 on capacity that was 71% restored
• Total operating expense, which includes $4.5 billion of benefit related to PSP, decreased $12.4 billion compared to 2019. Adjusted for the benefits related to PSP and costs from third-party refinery sales, total operating expense, adjusted decreased $10.9 billion or 27% versus 2019
• Remuneration from American Express for full year 2021 was $4.0 billion, 98% restored compared to full year 2019
• Invested $2.9 billion back in the business and reduced financial obligations by $7 billion, including fully funding the pension plans on a Pension Protection Act (PPA) basis
• The company had total debt and finance lease obligations of $26.9 billion with adjusted net debt of $20.6 billion at the end of December 2021

Read the full press release on PRNewswire 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 is having 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; 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; the cost of aircraft fuel; the availability of aircraft fuel; 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; 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 increased regulation to reduce emissions and other risks associated with climate change, on our business; 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, 2020 and our Quarterly Report for the quarterly period ended September 30, 2021. 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.