The owner of airlines British Airways and Aer Lingus has said its earnings soared in recent months due to “the effectiveness of our strategy and group-wide transformation”.
International Airlines Group (IAG) reported an operating profit for the first three months to the end of September of 2.0 billion euro (£1.7 billion), up 15.4% from 1.7 billion euro (£1.4 billion) a year ago.
Total revenues rose to 9.3 billion euro (£7.7 billion), up 7.9% from 8.6 billion euro (£7.1 billion) last year.
IAG also announced a 350 million euro (£291 million) share buyback scheme, adding that it expects its “strong financial performance to continue for the rest of the year”.
Fuel costs were 4.2% lower than the previous year, due to lower average prices and more efficient aircraft deliveries, IAG said.
Chief executive Luis Gallego said: “We achieved a very strong financial performance in Q3 2024, with a 15.4% increase in operating profit compared to the same period last year and improving our margin to 21.6%.
“This is due to the effectiveness of our strategy and group-wide transformation.
“We are also delivering on our commitment to provide sustainable returns for shareholders.
“Demand remains strong across our airlines and we expect a good final quarter of 2024 financially.”
