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 DALLAS (AP) - With fuel hedges and Easter in March providing a tail wind, Southwest Airlines Co. nearly tripled its first-quarter earnings — making it one of the few profitable U.S. carriers despite intense competition and high oil prices.
Southwest said Thursday that it earned $76 million, or 9 cents a share, in the January-March period, up from $26 million, or 3 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 12 percent to $1.66 billion.
The results topped the expectations of analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call, which had predicted Southwest would earn 5 cents a share.
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