British Airways’ parent company IAG has seen its operating profits fall since the Brexit referendum due to the slump in the value of the pound.
IAG, which also owns Iberia, Aer Lingus and Vueling, said that the pound’s weakness had cost the company €162 million in the quarter between June and September 2016.
Operating profit fell by 3.6 per cent to €1.2 billion over the same period. Revenue dropped by 4 per cent to €6.5 billion although IAG benefited from an 18.7 per cent reduction in its fuel bill.
IAG still expects to make an operating profit of €2.5 billion for 2016 as a whole, which would be a rise of 7 per cent on 2015’s profit, although it is lower than previous forecasts.
Willie Walsh, IAG’s CEO, said: “While strong, these results were affected by a tough operating environment with a very significant negative currency impact of €162 million, primarily due to sterling weakness, and continued disruption due to air traffic control strikes.”
During the first nine months of 2016, IAG made an operating profit of €1.9 billion – up by 6.1 per cent over the same period last year.