2024-05-10 13:50:08
The IAG group has confirmed the list of airlines that will operate some of the routes currently provided by Air Europa and that must give way for the European Commission to finally approve the purchase of the Globalia company by Iberia. In the short and medium radius it will be Ryanair, Volotea and Binter, which had already formally shown their intention to operate these routes, as confirmed this Friday by Luis Gallego, CEO of the holding company, which also targeted Avianca, Iberojet and World2Fly. for long-haul slots.
These will be the ‘remedy takers’ that IAG is presenting to the Commission, a “wide range” of possibilities “the result of the conversations we have had with many companies in the sector and shows the important progress we have made in recent months,” he said. Galician. His objective is to reach a “balanced agreement” that protects competition, but at the same time “allows Madrid-Barajas to be converted into the great ‘hub’ of southern Europe that it should be.”
Two weeks ago, Brussels issued its ‘Statement of objections’ where it expressed its doubts about operations that may generate more competition problems and price increases for customers. The president of Iberia, Marco Sansavini, indicated at a press conference that they cannot give more specific details of the routes they have proposed for each airline, but that the Commission will have its response before June 10. The company is willing to give up up to 40% of Air Europa routes in order to guarantee that there will not be a single route on which Iberia and Air Europa operate alone.
The forecast is that the purchase will be closed before the end of the year, but everything will depend on the times established by the Commission and the ‘stop the clock’ periods they impose to further study the operation.
Best results
The group is currently in a better financial position than a year ago due to the boom in demand after the full post-pandemic recovery. In the first quarter of 2024, the IAG holding company – which includes Iberia, British Airways, Vueling, Level and Aer Lingus – closed with a net loss of 4 million euros, a result much higher than the 87 million losses it had a year ago, as the company notified this Friday to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV).
Iberia
70 million euros
operating profit in Iberia’s first quarter, 4 million more than last year.
Iberia is the airline that pulled IAG, contributing 70 million euros of operating profit in the first quarter of the year, compared to 66 million in 2023. British Airways also achieved profits, of 22 million in its case. On the part of Vueling the results were worse, with 25 million losses, although much better than the almost 65 million losses a year ago. Aer Lingus, for its part, remained stable with 82 million losses.
From January to March, the company earned 6,429 million euros, 9% more than a year ago, and obtained an operating profit of 68 million, seven times more than in the same period of 2023. In addition, the group’s net debt was 7,438 million as of March 31, 24% lower than at the end of 2023, and liquidity rose to 13,300 million (13%).
Gallego noted that the transformation initiatives and the increase in demand – including the Easter period, which this year fell in March – “have led to another very good set of results, with improvements in both revenue and operating profit.” ». Furthermore, he highlighted that the group is “well positioned for the summer” and that “strong travel demand continues to be a sustained trend.”
Return to dividend
In 2023 as a whole, IAG recorded net profits of 2,655 million thanks to the explosion in travel demand after the full post-pandemic recovery. Which meant multiplying the 2022 result by six. Income also skyrocketed almost 28% to 29.5 billion. Despite the good closing figures for 2023, the directors proposed that no dividend be paid for that year due to liquidity needs.
For 2024, the group left the door open to dividends and Luis Gallego told the media this Friday that if the results maintain the positive trend over time, they see no reason why they should not announce dividends “soon”, although he did not specify when. One option is for it to be announced at the next shareholders meeting to be held on June 26.
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