When AMR Corporation (PINK:AAMRQ) filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 on Nov. 29, 2011, it got one final opportunity to become successful again. Now that seven months have gone by, it is time to draw the line in order to see whether AAMRQ stockholders are still in danger of losing their investments.
Despite all efforts, AMR Corporation has only headed toward total liquidation. Its financial records just underpin this scenario. No matter how much excess luggage the company has jettisoned, it continues to sink like a stone, barring stockholders from getting even a fraction of their investments back. Why?
While the company’s plan of reorganization appears to have already been implemented, it has so far yielded unsatisfactory results. AAMRQ closed the first calendar quarter of 2012 with a negative net worth of $8.7 billion, deterioration of 27% from the preceding quarter. Thus, all the money invested in (and donated to) the company have evaporated. If this were not enough, this also implies that retained earnings are as good as gone for good. It’s hard to imagine how a company with such a widening net worth gap will actually be able to compensate its secure creditors, let alone its stockholders, who are in general last in line to be repaid should the company go bust.
Need additional evidence? Look at AAMRQ’s working capital. For the last four quarters on record, AAMRQ has maintained an average working capital deficit of $1.9 billion. What is more, even though the company’s earnings for Q1 2012 have gone up 9% on an annual basis, its net result as of Mar. 31, 2012 is a huge loss of $1.66 billion, up 280% as compared to Q1 2011.
In short, AAMRQ:
- is up to its neck in debt;
- cannot rely on new credit opportunities;
- is not able to make ends meet and keep the ball rolling for much longer;
- appears to be implementing a reorganizational plan that is neither efficient, nor effective in the light of the latest corporate financial results.
If you still hold an interest in AAMRQ, you might consider getting rid of it while it still has any value left. In case you decide to wait for better days, you should not entirely rule out the risk of finding yourself on the wrong side of the tracks.
