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Empresas y finanzas

Continental Airlines posts loss on hedges, pensions


    NEW YORK (Reuters) - Continental Airlines posted a quarterly loss on Thursday as it lost money on some fuel-hedging contracts and made pension payments to pilots taking early retirement as the company pares back its flight schedule.

    The No. 4 U.S. carrier said its fourth-quarter net loss widened to $266 million, or $2.33 per share, from $32 million, or 33 cents per share, a year earlier.

    Excluding one-time items, CONTINENTAL (CON.XE)reported a loss of 84 cents per share. On that basis, Wall Street forecast a loss of 89 cents, according to Reuters Estimates.

    The airline industry was clobbered last year by soaring fuel prices in the first half and an economic recession in the second half.

    (Reporting by Bill Rigby; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)