Executing our strategy has driven very strong financial performance in the quarter: • Increase in total revenue by 7.9%
• Increase in operating profit by 15.4% to €2,013 million
• Increase in operating margin by 1.4 percentage points to 21.6%Demand remains strong in all our core markets, supporting a 1.2% increase in passenger unit revenue
Ongoing focus on improving our customer propositions and operational resilience
Increased profitability supports significant free cash flow generation, investment and an increasingly strong balance sheet
We are pleased to announce a €350 million share buyback
We expect our strong financial performance to continue for the rest of the year
Luis Gallego, IAG Chief Executive Officer, said:
“We achieved a very strong financial performance in Q3 2024, with a 15.4% increase in operating profit compared to the same period last year and improving our margin to 21.6%. This is due to the effectiveness of our strategy and Group-wide transformation.
“We are also delivering on our commitment to provide sustainable returns for shareholders. “Demand remains strong across our airlines and we expect a good final quarter of 2024 financially.”
Financial highlights for the third quarter of 2024
Total revenue growth of 7.9% mainly due to to higher passenger revenue, with an improvement in Cargo revenue and Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) revenue at Iberia
Passenger revenue per available seat kilometre (‘ASK’) for the third quarter was 1.2% higher than in the third quarter of 2023, despite an exceptionally strong comparative quarter in 2023. For the nine months to 30 September it has increased by 2.2%
Non-fuel unit costs increased by 2.2%, as the benefits of transformation and capacity growth partially offset wage settlements and supplier inflation
Fuel unit cost was down by 4.2% compared to the third quarter of 2023, reflecting the lower effective fuel prices net of hedging and the benefit of IAG’s ongoing deliveries of more efficient aircraft
Operating margin for the third quarter was 21.6%, a 1.4 percentage point increase compared with the third quarter in 2023, with a 5.4 percentage point improvement in the British Airways margin
Profit after tax of €1,435 million for the third quarter, an increase of 17% compared to €1,230 million in Q3 2023
Net debt at 30 September reduced to €6,189 million (31 December 2023: €9,245 million; 30 September 2023: €8,009 million) and
net debt to EBITDA before exceptional items reduced to 1.0 times