IAG takes off as its losses begin to narrow

By Daily Mail Reporter
Updated: 15:19 EST, 6 May 2011

View
comments

British Airways’ parent company narrowed first quarter losses, but warned full-year results will be at the mercy of oil price fluctuations.

International Airlines Group – created via BA’s merger with Spain’s Iberia – reported a pre-tax loss of £41million, an improvement on a £215million loss last year.

Europe’s third-largest aviation group expects high oil prices to add £88.3million more than previously thought to its costs after a 31 per cent rise in the quarter, taking its annual fuel bill to £4.6billion.

Challenge: IAG boss Willie Walsh warned full-year results will be at the mercy of oil price fluctuations

Chief executive Willie Walsh admitted fuel costs were a ‘challenge’, but said the company could respond quickly to movements in the oil price.

‘We have flexibility to both reduce and increase capacity,’ he said, adding the year was ‘more likely to be a high oil price environment’.

More...

IAG (up 8.1p to 254.1p) said it was on track to achieve a target of saving £353million annually by the fifth year of the merger, while analysts are predicting a full-year profit of around £442million.