American Airlines third-quarter profits are down nearly 50% due to high fuel costs

Rising fuel costs reduced American Airlines' profits by almost half in the third quarter, and the company said its company would react by increasing more slowly and cutting off unprofitable flights.

American announced Thursday that he hoped the revenue per seat would increase in the fourth quarter.

The shares, which were battered this year, soared in trading before the opening bell.

American Airlines Group Inc. posted a profit of $ 341 million, down 48% from a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, American completed a share price of $ 1.13, which is in line with forecasts made by 16 analysts in a FactSet survey.

The turnover rose 5% to $ 11.56 billion, a record for the company, even with a $ 50 million loss related to flights canceled in September during Hurricane Florence.

The increase in revenue has however been overwhelmed by an increase in fuel costs of more than 40%.

CEO Doug Parker said the company would reduce its planned growth, cancel unprofitable flights, delay new aircraft and manage other costs. American plans to reduce capital expenditures by $ 1.2 billion by delaying the delivery of 22 new Airbus jets over the next three years.

American also plans to increase its revenues through moves such as installing more seats with more legroom and higher prices on more aircraft used for international flights. "We are confident that these actions will allow American to outperform its revenue and increase its earnings in 2019 and beyond," Parker said.

American expects that a key measure of turnover by head office will increase from 1.5% to 3.5% in the fourth quarter.

Equities rose $ 1.04, or 3.4%, to $ 31.38 early in the session. They started the day with a 42% decline, the worst performance among the major shares of US airlines.

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