Southwest Airlines Inc. Q3 Profit Drops, Inline With Estimates

(RTTNews) - Southwest Airlines Inc. (LUV) announced a profit for third quarter that decreased from the same period last year in line with the Street estimates.

The company's bottom line came in at $193 million, or $0.31 per share. This compares with $277 million, or $0.44 per share, in last year's third quarter.

Excluding items, Southwest Airlines Inc. reported adjusted earnings of $240 million or $0.38 per share for the period.

Analysts on average had expected the company to earn $0.38 per share, according to figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

The company's revenue for the quarter rose 5.0% to $6.53 billion from $6.22 billion last year.

Southwest Airlines Inc. earnings at a glance (GAAP) :

-Earnings (Q3): $193 Mln. vs. $277 Mln. last year. -EPS (Q3): $0.31 vs. $0.44 last year. -Analyst Estimates: $0.38 -Revenue (Q3): $6.53 Bln vs. $6.22 Bln last year.