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Chicago, January 22, 2025 - United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) reported its fiscal year 2024 and fourth quarter results. The company announced $4.2 billion of full-year pre-tax earnings with adjusted pre-tax earnings of $4.6 billion. Pre-tax margin stood at 7.3% with adjusted pre-tax margin at 8.1%. Diluted earnings for full year of 2024 was $9.45 per share and adjusted to $10.61 per share. UAL reported $14.70 billion in revenue, 7.8% increase compared to the previous year.
With strong demand for air travel with better experience, consumers are now less sensitive to price, UAL saw its premium seats sold more than years ago. Combined with better cost-cutting measures, UAL presents promising outlook for the first quarter if 2025.
UAL saw its premium travel business demand strongly Increased by 10%, reflecting strong demand for higher-end travel experiences. And as business travel demand has fully recovered, revenue from this segment grew by 7%. Sales from basic economy seats surged by 20% year-over-year. Sales from loyalty program also grew 12% as more frequent flyers chose to join the program for new extra benefits. Cargo as a diversified revenue also grew 30%, showcasing trust from businesses to UAL as their trusted air freight.
The aviation sector saw a strong rebound since Covid-19 pandemic period, driven by increased passenger traffic to 6.3% year-on-year, a return to pre-pandemic travel levels even surpassing global passenger trafficlevels recorded in 2019.
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.