NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - UAL Corp., parent of bankrupt airline United Airlines, reported a much larger-than-expected fourth-quarter loss that was even bigger than the one it posted in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks a year earlier. It also reported its largest annual net loss ever, $3.2 billion for 2002, according to Reuters.

The company reported a fourth-quarter loss of $1.4 billion, or $19.62 a share, excluding special items, compared with the loss of $640 million, or $11.74 a share, on that basis a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call had a consensus loss-per-share forecast of $13.81, with a range of loss per share estimates from $8.25 to $21.54.

While most major airlines have reported fourth-quarter losses, United's competitors have at least been able to trim the loss from year-earlier levels.

The company did not give detailed forecasts going forward, but said that it expects a significant first quarter loss, and that while about the same percentage of seats will be filled as a year ago, it will see a reduced mix of business travelers, who generally pay more than leisure travelers.

UAL said that since its bankruptcy filing, it has identified $1.4 billion in annual non-labor cost savings, and won $70 million in monthly labor savings through concession contracts and court-imposed labor pacts. Still, in the quarter salaries and benefit costs were flat despite a nearly 3 percent decline in the number of employees to about 77,000.

Revenue at the carrier, which filed for bankruptcy protection in December, was $3.5 billion, up from $2.9 billion a year earlier, and roughly in line with First Call's revenue forecast. The number of miles flown by paying passengers rose 6.4 percent to 37.3 billion, but the average amount paid by passengers fell 1.8 percent to 10.3 cents a mile. The company was also hit by a 10.3 percent increase in average fuel costs.

Shares of UAL (UAL: Research, Estimates) lost 5 cents to $1.02 in trading Thursday.