American Airlines reports record profit following US Airways merger

American Airlines Group has reported a record GAAP net profit of $597 million for the fourth quarter of financial 2014.

This compares to a GAAP net loss of $2 billion in the fourth quarter 2013, which includes the results for US Airways only for the period from the completion of the merger on December 9th, 2013, through December 31st, 2013.

For full year 2014, GAAP net profit was $2.9 billion, compared to a full year 2013 GAAP net loss of $1.8 billion for AMR Corporation, which includes the results for US Airways only for the period from the completion of the merger.

The company argued it is more meaningful to compare year-over-year results for American Airlines and US Airways excluding special charges and on a combined basis, which is a non-GAAP formulation that combines the results for AMR Corporation and US Airways Group.

On this basis, the company’s fourth quarter 2014 net profit excluding net special charges was a record $1.1 billion, or $1.52 per diluted share.

This represents a 153 per cent improvement over the combined non-GAAP net profit of $436 million excluding net special charges for the same period in 2013.

The company’s fourth quarter 2014 pre-tax margin excluding net special charges was a record 10.6 percent.

“Our record 2014 results close out a fantastic first year for our merger.

“These results would not have been possible without the efforts of our more than 100,000 team members,” said Doug Parker, American Airlines Group chairman.

“They have done a great job of working together to take care of our customers and restore American as the greatest airline in the world.

“We have much to do in the year ahead as we continue to integrate two large carriers.

“The results we have achieved thus far, combined with our economic outlook, give us confidence that 2015 will be another outstanding year for American Airlines.”