
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, July 22, 1993                   TAG: 9307220050
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

PROFITS UP, BUT AIRLINES NOT READY TO DANCE

Two major U.S. airline companies on Wednesday posted second-quarter profits but reported no significant optimism about the industry's sustained financial health.

AMR Corp., parent of American Airlines, reported its first profit in almost two years, $47 million for the second quarter on higher ticket prices. But company officials downplayed the results.

"We're very happy that the trend is positive and not negative. Nevertheless, $47 million worth of earnings on a capital base of $20 billion is really not something you want to stand up and dance about," AMR Chief Financial Officer Michael Durham said.

Meanwhile, USAir Group said it earned $5.8 million in the quarter, up from a loss a year ago.

USAir Group, parent of USAir, said Wednesday it earned $5.8 million in the quarter, compared with a $131.1 million loss for the 1992 period. The gain was attributed to increased revenue even though capacity was down. Yield was up 7.5 percent.

The Arlington, Va.-based company, operating the dominant carrier at Roanoke Regional Airport, had a loss per share of 23 cents after paying preferred dividends. A year earlier, it lost $131.1 million, or $3.07 per share. Revenue rose to $1.8 billion from $1.7 billion.

Chairman Seth Schofield said USAir should continue showing a year-over-year improvement. For the first six months of 1993, USAir Group lost $55.2 million, or $1.78 per share, on revenues of $3.5 billion. During the 1992 half, it lost $869.3 million, or $19.09 per share, on revenues of $3.4 billion.

Fort Worth, Texas-based AMR Corp.'s quarterly profit came to 39 cents per share, compared with a loss of $183 million, or $2.43 per share, during the 1992 period. Revenues were $4.21 billion, up more than 17 percent from $3.59 billion.

A month ago, American warned it was attracting fewer fliers than expected and would report disappointing earnings. Analysts reduced their estimated per-share earnings from around 70 cents to about 20 or 30 cents.

The carrier expects traffic to stay weak, but it expects more improvement in year-over-year third-quarter results, said AMR Chief Financial Officer Michael Durham.

by CNB