United Airlines parent UAL's 3Q earnings climb 76 pct

UAL Corp. said Tuesday its third-quarter profit surged nearly 76 percent, due largely to pared-down costs, reduced capacity and a boost in passenger revenue at United Airlines.

It was the company's most profitable quarter in seven years, beating a record set during the previous quarter.

The parent of the nation's No. 2 carrier said it earned $334 million, or $2.21 per share, for the July-through-September quarter. That's up from $190 million, or $1.30 per share, during the same period last year.

Excluding special items, the company earned $295 million, or $1.96 per share, easily beating Wall Street forecasts.

Meanwhile, revenue for the Chicago-based company climbed 6.8 percent to $5.53 billion, up from $5.18 billion.

On average, analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial forecast earnings of $1.88 a share on revenue of $5.36 billion.

"We delivered excellent results this quarter driven by fundamental improvements across our core business," Chairman and Chief Executive Glenn Tilton said in a statement.