Last year, a very difficult one for the commercial aviation industry -the worst in history, according to the IATA-the Iberia Group managed to post an EBITDAR margin of 13.8%, which was half a point better than that of 2002 and the best recorded by any European airline. Consolidated earnings were positive, with an operating profit of EUR4.9 million and net income of EUR50.2 million.
For the fourth consecutive year Iberia will pay a dividend, for a total of EUR9.1 million.
Iberia Group operating revenues reached EUR4.738 million, up 5.6% from 2000. Capacity grew by 7.7% and total demand rose by 3.3% despite the events of 11 September.
Operating Costs increased by 7.1% to EUR4.733 million, below the initial forecast due to the control of manageable costs and personnel costs which increased by only 1.8%.
Fuel costs rose by 10.2%, ten points below initial forecasts, due in part to the fall in crude prices in the last quarter, but chiefly to the company`s coverage policy.
However, the rise in insurance costs brought an unexpected charge of nearly EUR18 million in the final quarter.
Company productivity climbed by 7.9% in the year to 2.31 million available seat/kilometer per employee. Fleet productivity was up 12% to 8.5 block hours per aircraft/day.
Result of the January-April, 2002
In the year through April, the Iberia Group posted an operating result of EUR27.7 million, up EUR101 million from the same months of 2001. This was the more noteworthy since these are traditionally the slackest months for the airline industry.
Operating costs in the first four months of the year declined by 6.7%, thanks to the capacity cutback, the company-wide cost savings programme, staff cuts, and lower fuel prices. Fleet utilisation use grew by 5% in the period, and staff productivity increased by 1.1%.
Operating revenue per ASK rose by 3.3% from the same months of 2001. Total operating revenue in this period came to EUR1.477 billion, about the same as the figure for the same months of last year.
The EBITDAR generated in January-April amounted to EUR213 million, nearly 50% higher than the year-ago figure. EBITDAR margin reached 14.4%, as compared with the 9.7% posted in the same months of last year.
Capacity was cut by 3.3% with respect to its year-ago level. This was achieved by selective reductions of flight frequencies following 11 September. The load factor improved by one point, reaching 70.5%.
In the month of April alone, the Iberia Group posted operating results of EUR32.9 million, well up from the EUR6.6 million recorded in April, 2001.
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