AMR Corp, parent of the No. 1 U.S. carrier American Airlines, reported a first-quarter loss of $328 million on Wednesday, led by record high fuel costs.

Fort Worth-based AMR said the loss amounted to $1.32 per share, compared to a profit of $81 million, or 30 cents per share in the same period last year. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial said they expected a loss of $1.34 per share.

Revenue rose 5 percent to $5.7 billion, up from $5.4 billion a year earlier.

Shares of AMR, which fell 37 percent in the first quarter, traded up 67 cents, or 7.8 percent, at $9.24 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Chairman and Chief Executive Gerard Arpey also said AMR will make additional reductions to its 2008 capacity plan and is accelerating the replacement of its MD-80 fleet with more efficient Boeing 737-800s.

AMR said it paid $665 million, or $2.74 a gallon for jet fuel in the first quarter compared with $1.85 a gallon in the first quarter of 2007. In total, the company's fuel bill rose 48 percent.

The airline industry has attempted to offset fuel prices by hiking up fare tickets and fuel surcharges.

The company also agreed to sell its American Beacon Advisors Inc., its asset-management subsidiary, to Lighthouse Holdings Inc. for $480 million. Lighthouse is owned by investment funds affiliated with Pharos Capital Group LLC and TPG Capital.

American Airlines