IAG revenues up on currency gains

IAG saw cargo revenues increase by more than 8% during the second quarter of the year despite a volume decline caused by a move away from operating its own freighters.
The Iberia and BA owner recorded cargo revenues of €259m during the second quarter of the year, up from €238m during the same period in 2014.

For the half year, cargo revenues increased by 3.5% year on year to €505m.
The increase appears to be largely a result of currency effects and growth in its premium product.
IAG said half-year cargo revenues would have been down by 8% at constant currency.
IAG Cargo chief executive Steve Gunning said: “Successes over the quarter include a record growth in our premium product tonnage; the introduction of a simplified freight rate structure for our customers; opening a new route into Kuala Lumpur and bringing two new Constant Climate stations online.
“We have also added 47 flights to our EuroConnector service, providing customers with a greater array of options for shipping goods into, around and out of Europe.”
Meanwhile, second quarter traffic slipped by 2.1% to 1.3bn cargo tonne km (CTK) and volumes were down 1.4% to 214,000 tonnes.

The decrease in demand was pinned on the decision to exit freighter operations in May last year, instead taking space on Qatar freighters.
While freighter capacity was removed, overall capacity during the second quarter was increased by 2.1% as a result of network expansion.
Revenues per CTK increased during the period by 6.8% on last year to 19.37 cents
.
“The performance of the cargo business was up with load factors flat, positive mix partially offsetting market price pressure, and benefits from strong cost management,” IAG said, commenting on the half year performance.
Gunning added: “Over the last three years IAG Cargo has been on a relentless drive to restructure our business and implement an operating model that performs well during market fluctuations.
“Our focus remains on delivering an outstanding product offering that is complemented by shared capacity partnerships that increase the depth and breadth of our network reach.
“We believe this approach will put us in the best possible position to meet our customer’s needs and therefore compete successfully.”