The parent of United Airlines said Tuesday it lost $61 million in the fourth quarter, but UAL Corp. still managed to post a $25 million profit in the 11 months since emerging from bankruptcy protection in February. Its stock tumbled more than 4 percent in early trading on Nasdaq. For the quarter that ended Dec. 31, UAL's loss amounted to 55 cents per share. For the February-December period, the company earned $25 million, or 14 cents per share. UAL has not earned a full-year profit since 2000 when it made $322 million. "This has been a defining year for United," CEO Glenn Tilton said in a message to employees. "We exited bankruptcy, completing our restructuring and creating a platform that has supported the work we have been doing throughout this year. With the court-restructuring behind us, we have been able to focus on our performance and on our customers." UAL was in bankruptcy protection during the 2005 fourth quarter, when it lost $16.9 billion - most of which was related to reorganization charges.