IAG Cargo suffers profit fall in tough first half
IAG Cargo, the single freight carrier business made up of British Airways World Cargo and Iberia Cargo, made 590 million euros (US$724 million) in commercial revenue during the first six months of this year, a fall of 0.3 percent over the same period of 2011.
Freight traffic was also down year-on-year over the period, by 1.8 percent, to a little over 3 billion freight tonne-km. With cargo capacity up by 3.7 percent, the load factor inevitably fell.
Yield rose by 1.5 percent year-on-year unless exchange rates are taken into consideration, in which case it fell by 1.8 percent.
Steve Gunning, IAG managing director, said that they results represented “solid overall performance when set against an economic climate that has continued to prove challenging”.
However, looking forward, he cautioned: “Due to continued questions over the pace and consistency of economic recovery we remain cautious about future performance.”
The company continues to leverage the benefits of integration, offering customers an end-to-end global network and a competitive premium product portfolio.
“Additonally, we continue to evolve our customer distribution channels to ensure that we provide a service that is dynamic and user-friendly.”
Gunning concluded: “By focusing squarely on network reach, product excellence and dynamic distribution we are building a foundation for the company that will drive long-term growth.”
