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shares fell late Monday after the airline operator said it expects to post a loss in the current quarter due to expenses tied to a potential agreement with its pilots union and weaker traveling trends to start the year.
The airline operator said in a securities filing that it expects an adjusted per-share loss of between $1 and 60 cents in the first quarter, compared with a previous projection for a profit between 50 cents and $1 a share. Analysts polled by FactSet, meanwhile, were expecting first-quarter earnings of 64 cents a share.
Shares dropped 6.3% to $45.77 in after-hours trading. Through Monday’s close, the stock was up 30%, boosted in part by the carrier reporting stronger than expected fourth-quarter profit.
United said that it is shifting expenses tied to a potential new collective bargaining agreement with employees represented by the Air Line Pilots Association to the current quarter from the second quarter. United pilots last year rejected an agreement their union struck.
The airline also said that lower-demand months, including January and February, are growing at a slower rate than busier travel months when compared with the same month in 2019. Due to the new seasonal demand patterns, United now expects its total revenue per available seat miles to increase between 22% and 23% in the first quarter, down from a previous expectation of 25%.
Nevertheless, the demand environment remains strong, United said, with first-quarter revenue expected up 51% compared with the same period a year ago.
Additionally, the carrier said oil prices and crack spreads remain elevated, and it now anticipated first-quarter fuel price a gallon in the range of $3.31 and $3.41, above the $3.19 expected when it issued its prior forecast.
United said the seasonality shift will help its second quarter, when it expects total operating revenue to rise at a midteens percent rate compared with the same period last year.
It also backed its outlook for the year, with projections for adjusted per-share earnings between $10 and $12.
The revised outlook comes ahead of United’s appearance at an industry conference Tuesday, where executives from
Delta Air Lines Inc.,
JetBlue Airways Corp.
and other airlines are also scheduled to present.
Write to Sabela Ojea at sabela.ojea@wsj.com
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