Madrid, 24 Feb. Spanish-British International Airlines Group (IAG), which owns Spanish airline Iberia, earned 431.5 million euros ($458 million) in 2022, after racking up losses of 9,800 million euros ($10,388 million) for two years due to the pandemic.
Also part of the British Airways group are Vueling, Aer Lingus and Level.
As the airline group, headed by Spaniard Luis Gallego, reported on Thursday, the company managed to invoice 23,066 million euros last year (24,450 million dollars), almost three times more than in 2021, due to a sharp increase in activity.
These results are published the day after the announcement by IAG and Globalia of the agreement for the acquisition of the entire capital of Air Europa by the Spanish-British group, for 400 million euros (424 million dollars). , to which are added the 100 that I had already paid last August.
In Q4 2022, IAG closed with capacity (Available Seat Kilometers) 87% of what it had in 2019, and expects to recover to 98% in 2023.
Operating income was €1,256 million ($1,331 million) in 2022.
IAG is confident that operating profit will return to pre-pandemic levels “in coming years” through initiatives to improve customer experience and operational performance.
UNIT REVENUE PER PASSENGER UP 11%
Passenger unit revenues were 11% higher than those recorded in 2019, a particularly notable increase in the second half, with a strong recovery in leisure traffic and a continued improvement in business travel, while the premium leisure segment recorded good results.
The airline conglomerate reduced its net debt to 10.4 billion euros ($11.024 billion), driven by operating profit and “significant” inflows of working capital.
At the same time, liquidity continued to strengthen to reach 14,000 million euros ($14,840 million) as of December 31, 2022, i.e. 2,000 million euros ($2,120 million) more than at the end of the previous year.
Unit costs excluding fuel were up 24.1% compared to 2019, due to supplier cost inflation, lower capacities and exchange rates.
And the unit cost of fuel increased by 30.2% compared to 2019, affected by the notable increase in prices on the commodity markets after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, partially offset by the benefit of its policy of blanket.
IAG CEO Luis Gallego considers in a note that 2022 has been a year of solid recovery, driven by sustained holiday demand and the reopening of markets.
According to Gallego, the agreement to acquire Air Europa, subject to regulatory approvals, “will allow us to welcome another leading airline and make Madrid a hub, providing a gateway to Latin America. and beyond, delivering benefits to customers, employees and shareholders.
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