British Airways and
Iberia parent International Consolidated Airlines Group for the quarter ending
Sept. 30 reported an after-tax profit from continuing operations of €580
million, up from €254 million in the year-earlier period. BA in particular
reported strong numbers, with an operating profit of €477 million, well above
last year's €268 million. "It's performance continues to benefit from a
strong London and transatlantic market," according to a statement from IAG
chief executive Willie Walsh.
BA also posted a 5.4
percent year-over-year increase in total traffic during October.
Iberia also improved
its performance with a quarterly operating profit of €74 million compared to €1
million in last year's September quarter. "This is an improved performance,
bearing in mind it's the strongest quarter of the year," according to
Walsh. "However, the airline must continue to implement its restructuring plan." Iberia's October traffic fell 17.4 percent year over year.
Across the group,
passenger revenue increased 10.4 percent during the September quarter and operating
profit before exceptional items jumped to €690 million from €270 million a year
earlier. In a research note, J.P.
Morgan analysts described the company's financial performance as
"healthy" and "handily topping our lower-end estimates."
They added that "we clearly
underestimated IAG's recovery momentum in 3Q."
IAG's overall October
traffic increased 8.9 percent year over year, including the impact of IAG's
April 2013 acquisition of Vueling Airlines, which IAG acquired in April 2013.
Leaving Vueling aside, IAG overall October traffic increased 1.1 percent.
Premium traffic grew by
4 percent while all traffic on routes to North America rose 5.8 percent.
In other IAG news, the
company this week announced that Iberia non-executive chairman Antonio Vázquez Romero
and BA non-executive chairman Martin Broughton on Jan. 1, 2014, will resign
from those posts to focus on their respective roles as chairman and deputy
chairman of IAG's board of directors. BA chief executive Keith Williams and
Iberia chief executive Luis Gallego also will serve as their carriers'
chairmen, reporting to Walsh, but "will stand down from the IAG board."