British Airways owner IAG share price climbs after profit boost
Shares in the owner of British Airways, International Airline Group, have climbed 1.5 per cent after the group reported a pretax profit of €155m for the six months to June 30.
Furthermore, all of the group's airlines had their highest second quarter operating result since 2007. Passenger numbers also rose from 29,137 to 35,480.
The results are a significant turnaround from the €177m loss IAG suffered a year ago. However, Iberia continued to be a loss maker with operating losses standing at €95m. Last week, Iberia signed an agreement to cut 1,427 jobs.
Though Iberia's losses have narrowed from the hefty €551m see last years, it remains drag on the more profitable BA and Vueling.
Willie Walsh, IAG chief executive officer, said: "This performance shows that we are making further solid progress. Our disciplined approach to capacity continues and we will make reductions where it makes sense as we go through the year."
Mr Walsh added that eight Airbus A350-900s and eight Airbus A330-200s will be joining the group's longhaul fleet.