United beats 2Q profit forecasts

United Continental Holdings Inc. on Tuesday reported second-quarter profit of $588 million.

On a per-share basis, the Chicago-based company said it had net income of $1.78. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, were $2.61 per share.

The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of eight analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $2.57 per share.

The airline posted revenue of $9.4 billion in the period.

United shares have fallen 16 percent since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Tuesday, shares hit $47.85, a fall of 14 percent in the last 12 months.