IAG Cargo reports positive Q3 results 31 October 2014

Fundamental market issues with excess capacity remain

IAG Cargo has announced its Q3 results from July 1 to September 30, 2014, reporting commercial revenue (flown revenue plus fuel surcharges) of €236.0 million, down 7.8% from the €256.0 million recorded for the same period last year. On a like for like basis, adjusting the prior year’s figures to reflect a directly comparable freighter operation, commercial revenue increased 7.6% versus last year.

Volumes of 1,331 million cargo tonne kilometres (CTKs) on a like for like basis for the quarter represent an increase of 12.0% compared to Q3, 2013, while capacity increased by 4.1%. Overall yield (commercial revenue per CTK) for the quarter was down 3.0% at constant exchange rates.

The Company reported good load factor improvements across markets, despite an increase in capacity. The strong performance of premium products offset continued underlying price pressure, particularly in the North American market, with Constant Climate, a product for temperature sensitive freight, delivering impressive volumes.

The decrease in yield was primarily due to flying increased sector lengths. However, the Company warned that more generally, while trading is good, there are still fundamental issues with the market in terms of excess capacity.