British Airways’ parent company records surge in profits
International Airlines Group said its operating profit last year was 4.3 billion euro (£3.6 billion).
British Airways’ parent company International Airlines Group (IAG) said its operating profit surged by 22.1% last year to 4.3 billion euros (£3.6 billion).
That is up from 3.5 billion euros (£2.9 billion) in 2023.
The company attributed the increase to higher revenues per passenger and lower fuel costs.
Its passenger revenue per available seat kilometre flown increased by 3.1%, while fuel costs per unit declined by 5.2%.
It is proposing to pay a final dividend to shareholders for 2024 which will take the total payments to 435 million euros (£359 million).
IAG chief executive Luis Gallego said: “These results highlight the quality of our businesses and effectiveness of our strategy, underpinned by the successful execution of our transformation programme across the group.
“We are delivering world-class margins and returns, in line with the targets we set out to the market just over a year ago.
“We are focused on continuing to make our brands the first choice for customers, by growing our network and enhancing the customer proposition, while our disciplined capital allocation ensures we can continue to invest in the business, deliver strong financial results and create sustainable value for our shareholders.
“We are particularly pleased to announce that IAG is proposing a final dividend which takes our total dividend for the year to 435 million euros and intend to return up to a further one billion euros (£826 million) of excess capital to shareholders in up to 12 months.”
IAG recorded a revenue growth of 9.0%, which it said was driven by “our market-leading network, strong brands and operational focus”.
British Airways made an operating profit of £2.0 billion, up from £1.3 billion in 2023.
That was secured with a 14.2% margin.
IAG, which also owns the Iberia, Vueling, Aer Lingus and Level airlines, said the group’s available seat kilometres – a measure of its capacity – grew by 6.2% in 2024.
Its airlines carried 122 million passengers in 2024, up 5.6% from 116,000 in 2023.
For British Airways alone, passengers numbers increased by 6.6% from 43 million to 46 million.
John Moore, an analyst at the finance firm RBC Brewin Dolphin, said: “IAG has delivered a strong set of results, with good performance across sales, margins, and cost reductions.
“The final dividend and share buyback programme are the icing on the cake.
“Demand for travel remains strong, despite previous concerns it would dissipate post-pandemic.”
