Berliner Boersenzeitung - British Airways owner IAG, Air France-KLM post bumper profits

EUR -
AED 4.110351
AFN 76.096216
ALL 99.428451
AMD 433.481096
ANG 2.017528
AOA 1048.002013
ARS 1080.09173
AUD 1.62057
AWG 2.014319
AZN 1.901655
BAM 1.967432
BBD 2.260263
BDT 133.770877
BGN 1.95766
BHD 0.421716
BIF 3239.696415
BMD 1.119066
BND 1.442629
BOB 7.735735
BRL 6.100138
BSD 1.119418
BTN 93.651887
BWP 14.709968
BYN 3.663459
BYR 21933.695934
BZD 2.25644
CAD 1.502106
CDF 3206.687523
CHF 0.942052
CLF 0.037057
CLP 1022.524069
CNY 7.868178
CNH 7.832153
COP 4642.725561
CRC 581.135779
CUC 1.119066
CUP 29.655252
CVE 111.168271
CZK 25.082977
DJF 198.880169
DKK 7.457552
DOP 67.563656
DZD 148.143362
EGP 54.498858
ERN 16.785992
ETB 134.371808
FJD 2.444544
FKP 0.852235
GBP 0.833464
GEL 3.049477
GGP 0.852235
GHS 17.73706
GIP 0.852235
GMD 76.669658
GNF 9649.707208
GTQ 8.653159
GYD 234.20466
HKD 8.709242
HNL 27.831171
HRK 7.608543
HTG 147.934616
HUF 394.157586
IDR 16923.525012
ILS 4.203716
IMP 0.852235
INR 93.52679
IQD 1465.976616
IRR 47104.290072
ISK 151.085367
JEP 0.852235
JMD 176.654412
JOD 0.793083
JPY 160.08915
KES 144.359263
KGS 94.250206
KHR 4560.194496
KMF 494.570961
KPW 1007.158873
KRW 1482.00167
KWD 0.341461
KYD 0.932916
KZT 536.874096
LAK 24711.780603
LBP 100268.324254
LKR 339.185324
LRD 216.95894
LSL 19.404488
LTL 3.304311
LVL 0.676912
LYD 5.315697
MAD 10.824751
MDL 19.539521
MGA 5086.155823
MKD 61.593404
MMK 3634.683103
MNT 3802.586622
MOP 8.977074
MRU 44.449127
MUR 51.331175
MVR 17.189019
MWK 1942.69882
MXN 21.614782
MYR 4.631254
MZN 71.452277
NAD 19.404796
NGN 1829.240621
NIO 41.153644
NOK 11.631551
NPR 149.842898
NZD 1.761852
OMR 0.430774
PAB 1.119418
PEN 4.220031
PGK 4.383662
PHP 62.592742
PKR 310.932422
PLN 4.254024
PYG 8712.509917
QAR 4.07424
RON 4.975034
RSD 117.085668
RUB 103.84706
RWF 1501.786732
SAR 4.198393
SBD 9.299138
SCR 14.240151
SDG 673.120186
SEK 11.28248
SGD 1.434889
SHP 0.852235
SLE 25.567642
SLL 23466.251229
SOS 638.986366
SRD 33.850598
STD 23162.409279
SVC 9.794909
SYP 2811.687125
SZL 19.404575
THB 36.492596
TJS 11.899552
TMT 3.916731
TND 3.421549
TOP 2.620961
TRY 38.179742
TTD 7.617033
TWD 35.495101
TZS 3056.169973
UAH 46.251547
UGX 4141.485201
USD 1.119066
UYU 46.675957
UZS 14284.878873
VEF 4053875.805824
VES 41.14179
VND 27534.62186
VUV 132.857778
WST 3.130546
XAF 659.8582
XAG 0.03485
XAU 0.000421
XCD 3.024332
XDR 0.828096
XOF 659.689004
XPF 119.331742
YER 280.100935
ZAR 19.318718
ZMK 10072.939276
ZMW 29.692548
ZWL 360.338834
  • NGG

    -0.3700

    70.11

    -0.53%

  • RBGPF

    3.1000

    60.1

    +5.16%

  • RYCEF

    0.0100

    7.07

    +0.14%

  • VOD

    -0.0200

    10.09

    -0.2%

  • GSK

    0.1200

    40.98

    +0.29%

  • AZN

    -0.2700

    76.87

    -0.35%

  • SCS

    0.1100

    13.12

    +0.84%

  • BTI

    0.2000

    38.1

    +0.52%

  • CMSC

    0.0299

    25.1

    +0.12%

  • BCC

    0.1300

    141.78

    +0.09%

  • RELX

    -0.3300

    48.53

    -0.68%

  • CMSD

    0.1150

    25.12

    +0.46%

  • BCE

    0.0300

    35.13

    +0.09%

  • RIO

    2.8400

    67.42

    +4.21%

  • JRI

    0.1200

    13.42

    +0.89%

  • BP

    -0.0300

    32.83

    -0.09%

British Airways owner IAG, Air France-KLM post bumper profits
British Airways owner IAG, Air France-KLM post bumper profits / Photo: Charly TRIBALLEAU - AFP/File

British Airways owner IAG, Air France-KLM post bumper profits

Europe's aviation industry extended a bounceback from the Covid pandemic on Thursday, as British Airways owner IAG and Franco-Dutch rival Air France-KLM posted bumper 2023 profits.

Text size:

The sector is now flying at cruising altitude on pent-up demand after emerging from the dark days of Covid, which sparked lockdowns and grounded airlines, sparking thousands of job cuts.

IAG, which owns also Spanish carriers Iberia and Vueling among others, said its net profit surged six-fold last year, boosted by "strong" demand particularly from leisure travellers, while it also hired 13,000 new staff.

Profit after tax jumped to 2.7 billion euros ($2.9 billion) in 2023, IAG said in a results statement, adding that revenues leapt by almost a third to 29.5 billion euros.

IAG noted that "strong growth" was "underpinned by robust and sustainable demand".

Air France-KLM announced that net annual profit soared almost a third to a record 934 million euros, while revenues jumped 14 percent to an all-time peak of 30 billion euros.

The carrier was also lifted by "sustained demand" in a "strong" performance, despite operational difficulties and fallout from the Israel-Hamas conflict.

However, its share price tanked nine percent in Paris as annual profit fell short of expectations after it logged a fourth-quarter loss. IAG shares slid 0.8 percent in London.

- 'Blue skies' -

"People always want to travel and Covid curbs only served to create greater demand -- in spite of cost pressures which have taken a toll on consumer budgets," said Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at stockbroker AJ Bell.

"Europe's aviation sector is enjoying blue skies and at the moment the outlook for 2024 appears relatively cloud free," she told AFP.

Covid caused Air France-KLM to lose a cumulative 10.4 billion euros in 2020 and 2021, forcing the group to carry out two recapitalisations and request help from the French and Dutch governments.

Over the same period, IAG logged net losses totalling also about 10 billion euros.

IAG chief executive Luis Gallego on Thursday said the group last year recovered "capacity to close to pre-Covid levels in most of its core markets".

The group said it was 92-percent booked for the first quarter of 2024 and 62-percent booked for the first half, ahead of last year's performance.

Air France-KLM said booking rates for the first half were similar to those at the same time last year.

IAG also unveiled a management reshuffle Thursday, including the appointment of Vueling chief executive Marco Sansavini as head of Iberia.

- Inflation pressures -

"Air France-KLM and IAG provide encouragement for those hoping for a resurgence for the beleaguered aviation industry," said Scope Markets analyst Joshua Mahony, while cautioning over persistent high inflation that ramps up airlines' costs.

He added that some carriers would struggle to meet booming demand with limited capacity -- and as the world's biggest planemakers struggle to produce enough jets.

"Unfortunately, many airlines will likely struggle to fully address the demand evident within the industry, with both Boeing and Airbus struggling to keep up with order backlogs that continue to grow," he told AFP.

Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary last week blasted a "debacle" at US planemaker Boeing, adding that the no-frills Irish carrier would seek compensation for flight cancellations caused by quality issues and production delays.

(B.Hartmann--BBZ)