Net profit falls by 90%
Iberia today (February 27) reported an operating loss of €79m for 2008.
But the Spanish carrier said its net profit fell by 90% to €32m, compared with €328 in 2007.
It said it was the 13th consecutive year in which it had made a net profit.
Iberia, which is in merger talks with BA, said its fuel bill had had the biggest impact on the figures.
During the year it had soared by 45.5% to €1,666m, €521m more than in 2007. Fuel now accounted for 30.1% of the Iberia group's total costs.
The carrier said that excluding fuel, other costs were down by €241m (5.1%).
It said operating revenue fell during 2008 by 1.3%, partly because of the exchange rates between the US dollar and the Euro.
During the year, Iberia said it had increased capacity on long haul routes by 3% but had cut it on domestic routes by a "hefty" 17.1%.
This was partly in line with its strategic plan and partly because of the changing market.
The opening of the high speed train service between Madrid and Barcelona took a considerable share of the air market.
Iberia said it was embarking on a new company plan between 2009-2011 to restore the airline to its previous level of profitability and to increase earnings by 15%.
This would be achieved by improvements to customer services, including €150m being spent on renovating its tourist class and the launch of a re-designed business class for long haul.
http://grupo.iberia.es/