British Airways owner IAG sees profits soar as fuel costs fall and passenger revenue rises
PROFITS took off at BRITISH AIRWAYS owner IAG last year as fuel costs shrank and it made more money from customers.
Passenger revenue increased by 3.1 per cent, while fuel overheads fell by 5.2 per cent.
That helped profits surge more by a fifth to £3.6billion as travel demand stayed strong through the year.
IAG’s airlines, which also include Iberia, Vueling and Aer Lingus, carried 122 million passengers in 2024, up 5.6 per cent on the previous year.
The performance saw shareholders rewarded with a £359million dividend. And it allowed the firm to announce a €1billion (£826m) share buyback for the next 12 months.
Boss Luis Gallego said: “We are delivering world-class margins and returns, in line with the targets we set out to the market over a year ago.”
Experts praised the turnaround of the business. Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: “It’s remarkable how far IAG has travelled since the depths of the pandemic when it was drowning in debt.
“Having nursed its balance sheet back to good health, the airline operator has got itself in a comfortable enough position to reward shareholders while continuing to invest in expanding its fleet of aircraft.”
The shares climbed by 5 per cent.
A home run
HOUSE prices climbed 3.9 per cent in the last year, with rises for the last six months in a row, Nationwide says. The average value rose 0.4 per cent in February to £270,493.
Jason Tebb, at property portal Onthemarket, said buyers had been bringing purchases forward to capitalise on Stamp Duty savings.
Move on up
PROPERTY website Rightmove is hoping for a boost from falling mortgage rates and greater interest from homebuyers this year.
It said revenue climbed 7 per cent last year, but it expects growth to be higher in 2025. Hopeful buyers made more than five billion views of properties on the site in 2024.
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