On Tuesday, UAL (NASDAQ:UAUA), parent of United Airlines, released Q4 2006 earnings for the period ended Dec. 31, 2006.

  • UAL's per-share earnings included $16.61 billion worth of reorganization charges. Without them, United lost $297 million, or $2.56 a share, during last year's Q4.
  • But it was United's revenue miss that investors appeared to like least. The stock was down by more than 8% as of yesterday's close.
  • That doesn't seem justified. A slimmer United improved its profitability per seat-mile and, despite notable winter weather disruptions, was able to keep its aircraft in the air longer than last year.
  • And while there was no balance sheet included with United's report, management says the carrier ended the year with $5 billion in cash.

(Figures in millions, except per-share data)

Income Statement Highlights

Q4 2006

Q4 2005

Change

Sales

$4,586

$4,386

4.6%

Net Profit

($61)

($16,904)

N/A

EPS

($0.55)

($145.47)

N/A

Diluted Shares

116

116

(0.2%)



Get back to basics with a look at the income statement.

Margin Checkup

Q4 2006

Q4 2005

Change*

Gross Margin

52.22%

52.12%

0.10

Operating Margin

0.50%

N/A

N/A

Net Margin

N/A

N/A

N/A

*Expressed in percentage points.

Margins are the earnings engine. See how they work.

Balance Sheet Highlights
No balance sheet provided. (Boo!)

Learn the ways of the balance sheet.

Cash Flow Checkup
No cash flow statement provided. (Hiss!)

Find out why Fools always follow the money.

Other Operating Metrics

Q4 2006

Q4 2005

Change*

Available Seat Miles

39,288

38,272

2.7

RASM (in Cents)

11.13

10.51

5.9

CASM (in Cents)

7.40

7.45

(0.7)

Load Factor

79.9%

80.1%

0.2*

RASM = Revenue Per Available Seat Mile. CASM = Cost Per Available Seat Mile. Load Factor = the percentage of available seats used.
 *Expressed in percentage points.

Related Companies:

  • AMR (NYSE:AMR)
  • Continental (NYSE:CAL)
  • Delta
  • Northwest
  • US Airways (NYSE:LCC)

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Fool by Numbers is designed to give you the raw earnings information in a timely fashion, putting all the numbers you need in one easy-to-read place. But at The Motley Fool, we believe numbers tell only part of the story, so check Fool.com for more of our in-depth discussion of what the numbers mean.

Fool contributor Tim Beyers, ranked 949 out of more than 20,000 in Motley Fool CAPS, didn't own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this story at the time of publication. Get the skinny on all the stocks he owns by checking Tim's Fool profile. The Motley Fool's disclosure policy always adds up.