Shares of American Airlines Group Inc. jumped 3.0% in premarket trading Thursday, after the air carrier reported a wider-than-expected first-quarter loss and revenue that fell shy, but showed continued improvement in cash burn. Net losses narrowed to $1.25 billion, or $1.97 a share, from $2.24 billion, or $5.26 a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, such as $1.95 billion in special tax credits, the adjusted per-share loss was $4.32, missing the FactSet consensus of $4.30. Revenue dropped 52.9% to $4.01 billion, just below the FactSet consensus of $4.04 billion, as passenger revenue fell 58.6%. Load factor declined to 59.5% from 72.7%, missing expectations of 63.3%. Average daily cash burn was $27 million, including $4 million per day in March, compared average daily cash burn of $30 million in the fourth quarter and $44 million in the third quarter. “Looking forward, with the momentum underway from the first quarter, we see signs of continued recovery in demand,” said Chief Executive Doug Parker. The stock has run up 33.2% year to date through Wednesday, while the U.S. Global Jets ETF has climbed 14.5% and the S&P 500 has advanced 11.1%.
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