Delta Q3 cargo revenue up 27% on international boost
For the first nine months of 2024, Delta reported a 7% increase in cargo revenue at $574 million.
Delta Air Lines reported a 27 percent increase in cargo revenue at $196 million for the third quarter of 2024 compared to $154 million in Q32023 on international volume strength.
For the first nine months of the current financial year, Delta reported a seven percent increase in cargo revenue at $574 million as against $535 million in the same period of last year, says an official release.
Passenger revenue was almost flat at $13.1 billion for Q32024 and four percent higher at $38.1 billion for the first nine months, the release added.
Net income increased 15 percent to $1.3 billion for the third quarter on a gain of $350 million on investments compared to a loss of $206 million in Q32023. For the first nine months of 2024, net income was up marginally (two percent) at $2.6 billion.
"Thanks to the exceptional work of the entire Delta team, we continue to lead the industry operationally and financially, with a double-digit operating margin and nearly $3 billion of free cash flow generation year-to-date," says Ed Bastian, Chief Executive Officer, Delta. "In recognition of the outstanding efforts of our employees this year, we have accrued almost $1 billion of profit sharing towards the upcoming February payout.
"With an improving industry backdrop and strong demand for travel on Delta, we are positioned to finish the year strong. We expect our December quarter pre-tax profit to grow 30 percent over last year to $1.4 billion, which would mark one of the most profitable fourth quarters in our history."
The direct revenue impact of the CrowdStrike incident was approximately $380 million, primarily driven by refunding customers for cancelled flights and providing customer compensation in the form of cash and SkyMiles, the release added. "The non-fuel expense impact was $170 million, primarily due to customer expense reimbursements and crew-related costs. Fuel expense was $50 million lower than it would have been as a result of the 7,000 flight cancellations over the five-day period."
Delta took delivery of nine aircraft in the September quarter and 27 aircraft year-to-date, including the A321neo, A330-900 and A350-900, the release added.
