CHICAGO, Jul 20, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) --

UAL Corporation (Nasdaq: UAUA), the holding company whose primary subsidiary is United Airlines, reported results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2010. The company:

• Reported its first quarterly profit since 2007 with a second quarter net profit of $430 million, or $1.95 per diluted share, excluding non-cash, net mark-to-market hedge gains and certain accounting charges as outlined in note 4 of the attached statement of consolidated operations, an improvement of $751 million from second quarter 2009. The company reported a GAAP net profit of $273 million, or $1.29 per diluted share.
• Reported a 26.9% year-over-year increase in consolidated passenger revenue per available seat mile (PRASM) for the second quarter with double digit growth rates across all regions.
• Reported a 1.9% year-over-year increase in consolidated unit cost per available seat mile (CASM) for the quarter, excluding fuel, certain accounting charges and profit sharing, with an increase in consolidated capacity of 1.1% year-over-year.
• Generated strong operating cash flow of $874 million and free cash flow of $801 million in the second quarter, and closed the quarter with a total cash balance of $5.2billion, including unrestricted cash of $4.9 billion.
• Accrued $63 million for profit sharing based on year-to-date pre-tax profitability, and paid $315 in incentive compensation to each eligible front-line employee based on strong operational and customer satisfaction performance in the second quarter.
• Ranked No. 1 in on-time arrivals among the five largest U.S. global carriers for the first six months of 2010 based on preliminary information⁺.
• Announced merger agreement with Continental Airlines on May 3, 2010, which will create the world's leading airline serving over 350 destinations worldwide. Integration planning is underway and we expect to close the transaction by year-end.
• Flew inaugural flight to Africa, commencing daily service between Washington Dulles and Accra, Ghana.

"We are pleased to report a significant net profit improvement in the quarter along with excellent operational results across the company," said Glenn Tilton, UAL Corporation chairman, president and CEO. "The United team continues to execute across our critical operating, service and financial metrics and this strong performance builds momentum that we take into our planned merger with Continental Airlines later this year."

Revenue Trends Continue Solid Year-Over-Year Improvements

For the second quarter, consolidated PRASM increased 26.9%year-over-year. Consolidated yield improved 23.6% and consolidated load factor increased 2.3 percentage points year-over-year.

Cargo revenue increased 57% year-over-year for the quarter as continued improvements in demand drove strength in both volume and yields across all regions, particularly trans-Pacific markets.

Maintained Strong Unit Cost Control

Total consolidated expense, including fuel and excluding non-cash net mark-to-market hedge gains and certain accounting charges, increased $455 million, or 11.1% year-over-year for the second quarter. Consolidated expense, excluding fuel, profit sharing programs and certain accounting charges, was up $91 million or 3.1%. Total GAAP consolidated expense, including these items, was up $816 million for the quarter.

Consolidated CASM, excluding fuel, profit sharing programs and certain accounting charges, increased by 1.9% year-over-year in the second quarter against a consolidated capacity increase of 1.1%. Mainline CASM, excluding fuel, profit sharing programs and certain accounting charges, increased by 1.7% in the second quarter, against a 1.6% decline in mainline capacity. Mainline and Consolidated CASM, including these items, were up 21.1% and 19.6% respectively, compared to the year-ago quarter.

Hedged 80% of Consolidated Fuel Consumption for Third Quarter 2010

The company recorded $17 million in cash losses on fuel hedges that settled in the second quarter including hedge ineffectiveness. In addition, the company also recorded non-cash, net mark-to-market losses on its fuel hedges of $37 million. The table below details hedge impacts for the quarter:

The company's hedge book consists of roughly 50% call options and 50% swaps, providing protection against rising fuel prices while allowing significant downside participation if fuel prices fall. For the third quarter 2010, the company has capped 80% of its estimated consolidated fuel consumption at a crude-equivalent average price of $79 per barrel. For the remainder of 2010, the company has capped 74% of its estimated consolidated fuel consumption at a crude-equivalent average price of $80 per barrel. The company will benefit from roughly 63% downside participation for the last half of 2010 if fuel prices fall.

Strong Liquidity Position Further Bolstered By Operating Cash Flow

The company ended the quarter with a total cash balance of $5.2 billion, including an unrestricted cash balance of more than $4.9 billion and restricted cash balance of $250 million.

In the second quarter, the company generated $874 million of positive operating cash flow and $801 million of positive free cash flow, defined as operating cash flow less capital expenditures. In the second quarter, the company had scheduled debt and net capital lease payments of $135 million, and non-aircraft capital expenditures of $73 million.

"We are clearly on the right path toward our goal of achieving sustained and sufficient profitability across the economic cycle," said Kathryn Mikells, UAL Corporation executive vice president and chief financial officer. "While there is much more work needed, our current results, including improvement in unit revenue, cost control, cash flow and profit margin, demonstrate substantial progress against our objective."

No. 1 On-Time Airline Among 5 Largest U.S. Global Carriers for First Six Months of 2010

Based on preliminary industry results, United remains in first place among the five largest U.S. global network carriers in on-time arrival performance for the first six months of 2010⁺, and was ranked second place in the second quarter. Each participating front-line employee earned a $315 bonus payout in the second quarter as a result of exceeding internal customer satisfaction and on-time performance goals.

Business Highlights

• On May 3, 2010, United and Continental Airlines announced a planned merger transaction that will create the world's leading airline and will expand access to an unparalleled global network serving 350 destinations around the world. The integration planning process is underway; teams from both companies are developing comprehensive plans for the combined company.
• United launched its inaugural flight to the continent of Africa on June 20 with daily non-stop service from Washington Dulles to Accra, Ghana.
• United completed the first flight by a U.S. commercial airline using natural gas synthetic jet fuel, demonstrating United's commitment to the advancement of alternative fuels in commercial aviation using fuel that is safe and approved for use in commercial aircraft. United also became the first airline to conduct two trans-Atlantic flights using state-of-the-art flight planning to demonstrate the potential for fuel savings and carbon dioxide reductions.
• Glenn Tilton, UAL Corp. chairman, president and CEO joined The Future of Aviation Advisory Committee convened by U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

2010 Outlook

The company expects both mainline and consolidated CASM, excluding fuel, profit sharing and certain accounting charges for the full year 2010 to be up 2.0% to 3.0% year-over-year. The company expects consolidated CASM, excluding fuel, profit sharing and certain accounting charges for the third quarter 2010 to be up 3.3% to 4.3% year-over-year.

The company expects scheduled debt and capital lease payments of approximately $220 million and non-aircraft capital expenditures of approximately $120 million for the third quarter of 2010. Complete details on United's outlook can be found in the Investor Update, available at united.com/ir.

Questions & Answers

Additional information can be found in the Q&A section of this release, beginning on page 8.

About United

United Airlines, a wholly-owned subsidiary of UAL Corporation (Nasdaq: UAUA), operates approximately 3,400* flights a day on United and United Express to more than 230 U.S. domestic and international destinations from its hubs in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Chicago and Washington, D.C. With key global air rights in the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and Latin America, United is one of the largest international carriers based in the United States. United also is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides connections for our customers to 1,172 destinations in 181 countries worldwide. United's 46,000 employees reside in every U.S. state and in many countries around the world. United ranked No. 1 in on-time performance for domestic scheduled flights for 2009 among America's five largest global carriers, as measured by the Department of Transportation and published in the Air Travel Consumer Report for 2009. News releases and other information about United can be found at the company's Web site at united.com, and follow United on Twitter @UnitedAirlines.

⁺According to preliminary industry results provided by the five largest U.S. global carriers based on available seat miles, enplaned passengers or passenger revenue, United ranked highest in on-time performance for domestic scheduled flights as measured by the U.S. DOT (flights arriving within 14 minutes of scheduled arrival time) between January 1 and June 30, 2010, when compared to such U.S. global carriers, which includes Delta (including its Northwest subsidiary), American, Continental and US Airways.

*Based on United's forward-looking flight schedule for July 2010 to June 2011.

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Certain statements included in this release are forward-looking and thus reflect our current expectations and beliefs with respect to certain current and future events and financial performance. Such forward-looking statements are and will be subject to many risks and uncertainties relating to our operations and business environment that may cause actual results to differ materially from any future results expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Words such as "expects," "will," "plans," "anticipates," "indicates," "believes," "forecast," "guidance," "outlook" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Additionally, forward-looking statements include statements which do not relate solely to historical facts, such as statements which identify uncertainties or trends, discuss the possible future effects of current known trends or uncertainties, or which indicate that the future effects of known trends or uncertainties cannot be predicted, guaranteed or assured. All forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to us on the date of this release. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise. Our actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements due to numerous factors including, without limitation, the following: our ability to comply with the terms of our amended credit facility and other financing arrangements; the costs and availability of financing; our ability to maintain adequate liquidity; our ability to execute our operational plans; our ability to control our costs, including realizing benefits from our resource optimization efforts, cost reduction initiatives and fleet replacement programs; our ability to utilize our net operating losses; our ability to attract and retain customers; demand for transportation in the markets in which we operate; an outbreak of a disease that affects travel demand or travel behavior; demand for travel and the impact the economic recession has on customer travel patterns; the increasing reliance on enhanced video-conferencing and other technology as a means of conducting virtual meetings; general economic conditions (including interest rates, foreign currency exchange rates, investment or credit market conditions, crude oil prices, costs of aviation fuel and energy refining capacity in relevant markets); our ability to cost-effectively hedge against increases in the price of aviation fuel; any potential realized or unrealized gains or losses related to fuel or currency hedging programs; the effects of any hostilities, act of war or terrorist attack; the ability of other air carriers with whom we have alliances or partnerships to provide the services contemplated by the respective arrangements with such carriers; the costs and availability of aviation or other insurance; the costs associated with security measures and practices; industry consolidation; competitive pressures on pricing and on demand; capacity decisions of United and/or our competitors; U.S. or foreign governmental legislation, regulation and other actions (including open skies agreements); labor costs; our ability to maintain satisfactory labor relations and the results of the collective bargaining agreement process with our union groups; any disruptions to operations due to any potential actions by our labor groups; weather conditions; its ability to complete the planned merger with Continental Airlines, Inc.; and other risks and uncertainties set forth under the caption "Risk Factors" in Item 1A. of the 2009 Annual Report, as well as other risks and uncertainties set forth from time to time in the reports we file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). Consequently, forward-looking statements should not be regarded as representations or warranties by UAL Corporation or United that such matters will be realized.

SOURCE: UAL Corporation

UAL Corporation
Worldwide Press Office: media.relations@united.com