British Airways owner IAG Group has reported an increase in pre-tax profit of around a third for 2016, hitting €2.4bn (£2bn) "in spite of a slight dip in revenue", says the Daily Telegraph.
The company, which also owns airlines Aer Lingus and Iberia, said it had benefitted from a 20 per cent fall to €4.9bn (£4.1bn) for fuel, oil and emissions costs.
That helped offset a 1.3 per cent drop in revenue to €22.6bn (£19.1bn), the result of long-standing "overcapacity across the airline industry [that] has helped contribute to a drop in air fares", says the Telegraph.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
IAG also suffered a €460m (£388m) currency hit related to the fall in the pound.
As the group reports in euros, any earnings made in sterling will be worth less following its fall of around ten per cent against the single currency since the Brexit vote in June.
However, the fall in overheads still left profit margins overall up by 1.2 per cent.
IAG Group announced a 12.5p dividend per share, taking the annual total to 23.5p, together with a €500m (£422m) share buy-back for this year, which helped the share price rise 2.5 per cent to 516p this morning.
-
Testosterone therapy in women highlights the lack of women’s health researchThe explainer There is no FDA-approved testosterone product for women
-
Magazine solutions - November 7, 2025Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - November 7, 2025
-
Magazine printables - November 7, 2025Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - November 7, 2025
-
Labour shortages: the ‘most urgent problem’ facing the UK economy right nowSpeed Read Britain is currently in the grip of an ‘employment crisis’
-
Will the energy war hurt Europe more than Russia?Speed Read European Commission proposes a total ban on Russian oil
-
Will Elon Musk manage to take over Twitter?Speed Read The world’s richest man has launched a hostile takeover bid worth $43bn
-
Shoppers urged not to buy into dodgy Black Friday dealsSpeed Read Consumer watchdog says better prices can be had on most of the so-called bargain offers
-
Ryanair: readying for departure from LondonSpeed Read Plans to delist Ryanair from the London Stock Exchange could spell ‘another blow’ to the ‘dwindling’ London market
-
Out of fashion: Asos ‘curse’ has struck againSpeed Read Share price tumbles following the departure of CEO Nick Beighton
-
Universal Music’s blockbuster listing: don’t stop me now…Speed Read Investors are betting heavily that the ‘boom in music streaming’, which has transformed Universal’s fortunes, ‘still has a long way to go’
-
EasyJet/Wizz: battle for air supremacySpeed Read ‘Wizz’s cheeky takeover bid will have come as a blow to the corporate ego’
