JetBlue Airways Corp. Thursday reported quarterly profit slid 54 percent as it grappled with record fuel prices, though the result beat forecasts.
JetBlue, which has posted a profit every quarter since its initial public offering in April 2002, said net income fell to $7 million, or 6 cents per share, compared with $15.2 million, or 14 cents a share, a year earlier.
Wall Street analysts had forecast first-quarter earnings pre share at the New York-based airline at 3 cents a share.
The airline's shares were up 3.6 percent in premarket trading on the Inet electronic brokerage system.
Susan Donofrio, an analyst at Fulcrum Global Partners, said the results were "pretty much in line" with her expectations.
JetBlue has some of the lowest costs in the airline industry, helped by high productivity and low labor expenses as well as one of the youngest jet fleets in the industry.
But the airline, which has been rated highly in customer service surveys, has not been immune to soaring energy costs.
JetBlue, which has been expanding its fleet aggressively, said revenue rose 29.5 percent to $374 million, beating a Reuters Research forecast of $363 million.
"Looking ahead, we're seeing good strength in the second quarter as our customers demonstrate their loyalty," JetBlue Chief Executive David Neeleman said in a statement.
JetBlue shares have outperformed the sectoral Amex Airlines index by about 6 percent so far this year.
