American Airlines’ financial woes continue

American Airlines’ financial woes continue    AMR Corp., parent company of American Airlines Inc., reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $604 million, compared to a loss of $387 million for the same period in 2004.
   The loss includes a $191 million negative impact of special items, including $155 million for aircraft charges, $73 million for facility charges and a $37 million gain related to debt restructuring.
   The company’s operating loss stretched 8.2 percent to $384 million from a loss of $355 million in year earlier quarter. Quarterly revenue was $5.16 billion, up 13.8 percent compared to $4.54 billion.
   For the full year, AMR’s net loss worsened to $861 million, from a loss of $761 million in 2004. The annual operating loss improved to $93 million from a deficit of $144 million. Revenue for 2005 was up 11.1 percent to $20.71 billion, compared to $18.64 billion in the previous year.
   AMR’s cargo revenue for 2005 was down 0.3 percent to $622 million. Cargo ton miles were flat at 2.2 billion.
   Annual fuel expenses increased 41.5 percent to $5.61 billion from $3.96 in 2004.
   “Our fourth quarter results close the book on another very difficult year,” said Gerard Arpey, AMR chairman and chief executive officer. “But while we are dissatisfied with our financial results, we did make progress in a number of important areas during the year, including our first annual operating profit, excluding special items, since the year 2000.”