IAG preliminary results give insight into Covid-19 impact

International Airlines Group (IAG), parent company of IAG Cargo and British Airways, has announced its preliminary results for the first quarter of 2020, ahead of the full results which will be released on May 7.

Commenting on ebit, IAG said: “The operating result in the first two months of 2020 was similar to that of last year, despite the suspension of flights to China due to Covid-19 from the end of January,” IAG explained in a statement.

This is perhaps due to the fact that between March 22 and April 26, IAG Cargo operated 350 additional cargo-only return flights, primarily on long-haul routes utilising passenger widebody aircraft.

Total first-quarter revenue declined by 13% to €4.6bn compared with €5.3bn in the prior year period. Meanwhile, the company’s pre-tax profit was impacted by a €1.3bn charge, which was implemented as a result of the “ineffectiveness of its fuel and foreign currency hedges for the rest of 2020 due to over-hedging”.

IAG is continuing to assess cost reduction and cash flow initiatives across the entire group.

IAG also explained that: “British Airways is formally notifying its trade unions about a proposed restructuring and redundancy programme” in response to the impact of Covid-19. 

Reports suggest the airline could be looking to cut as many as 12,000 jobs.