[Business] BA Owner's Shares Soar On Profit 'Take-Off'

[ddude_stnom]

BA Owner's Shares Soar On Profit Take-Off
Source: Sky News

The owner of British Airways, International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG), has confirmed a 265% rise in annual profits to £601m.

The company, which is currently aiming to bring Irish carrier Aer Lingus into its stable, said Spain's Iberia had returned to annual profit for the first time following a major restructuring.

British Airways' operating profit increased to £883m last year, which IAG said demonstrated progress on its long-term targets.

Its share price rose almost 5% when the FTSE 100 opened for business on news the company had upgraded its profit forecast for 2015 by over 20%.

It cited lower fuel costs and rising capacity for the move.

The upgrade is the latest in a series from IAG, which raised this year's forecast last October, buoyed by its exposure to strong demand for North Atlantic travel and Iberia's profitability.

IAG, which also owns low-cost Vueling in Spain, wants to add Aer Lingus to its portfolio but its approach is yet to get the backing of the Irish government which owns a 25% stake.

Unions are also cautious as the £1bn bid is set to result in back office job losses though IAG insists its plans will grow the business.

IAG chief executive Willie Walsh told Sky News: "The board and the management team of Aer Lingus recognise the value of that and have strongly supported our bid ...we remain excited about the prospect of Aer Lingus being part of IAG.

"We believe we can bring a lot of additional value to Aer Lingus so we'll wait to see what shareholders in Aer Lingus have to say."

Ryanair, which holds a 29% stake in Aer Lingus, is believed to support the offer as it remains under regulatory pressure to draw down its holding to just 5%.

Mr Walsh added that the IAG proposals would, in his view, "significantly accelerate" the growth opportunities Aer Lingus had identified for its business.

"I think the management team at Aer Lingus has done a very good job but they recognise that their plan has quite an element of risk and that that risk could be eliminated or significantly reduced as part of IAG", he said.

[ddude_stnom]

By the way, if you have shares in IAG, now would be a good time to sell them; incase the Aer Lingus deal does not go through and plus the share price is at a high.