Bruce Barnard | Jul 29, 2011 9:06AM EDT
International Airlines Group, the carrier formed by the merger of British Airways and Spain’s Iberia, increased first half cargo revenues by 16.7 percent from a year ago, driven by higher traffic and yields.
Revenue rose to $847 million in the six months through June against $728 million in the same period in 2010, while traffic grew 8.3 percent and yield was up 7.3 percent.
IAG didn’t say whether its cargo unit made a profit and didn’t provide a breakdown between BA and Iberia, which merged their freight operations in April.
Revenue growth slowed in the second quarter, increasing 9.4 percent year-on-year to $432 million, while traffic was up 7.9 percent and yield improved by 1.5 percent over the second quarter of 2010.
IAG trailed Lufthansa Cargo, which boosted first half revenue by 17.1 percent to $2.2 billion, but bettered Air France-KLM, which grew freight revenue by 3.2 percent in April-June to $1.15 billion.
Overall, IAG reported a first half pre-tax profit of $55.8 million against a $599 million loss a year ago on revenue 17.9 percent higher at $11.2 billion. There was an operating profit of $125.8 million against a $442 million loss a year earlier.
IAG Chief Executive Willie Walsh said he expects the group to deliver “significant growth in operating profit this year,” despite surging fuel prices.
-- Contact Bruce Barnard at brucebarndard47@hotmail.com.
