- 57% booked for the second half
- First half revenue up 8% to €15.9 billion
- €1.5 billion returned to shareholders
British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines (IAG) reported a 43.5% increase in operating profit to €1.8 billion for the six months ending 30 June driven by strong travel demand, fuel, and foreign exchange benefits.
IAG, which also owns Iberia, Vueling and Aer Lingus said its transformation programme helped deliver a better customer experience with demand in core markets North Atlantic, Latin America and Europe.
As of 29 July, the airline group said it was 57% booked for the second half, with booked revenue in line with last year.
IAG shares were initially up in early morning trading on the news, before falling back. Year-to-date, they have been a strong performer, gaining 23%.
In more positive news for shareholders, the company returned €1.5 billion of cash in 2025 through dividends and buybacks.
On the downside, the airline group experienced softness in the US point-of-sale economy leisure market and going forward is ‘mindful of the ongoing uncertainty that may result from the geopolitical and macroeconomic backdrop.’
WHAT DID THE CEO SAY?
Luis Gallego said: ‘Our strong performance in the first half of 2025 reflects the resilience of demand for travel and the success of our ongoing transformation, underpinned by the fundamental strengths of our group. We continue to benefit from the trend of a structural shift in consumer spending towards travel.
‘We remain focused on our market-leading brands and core geographies, where we continue to see robust performance, allowing us to invest in fleet as well as technology to improve operational efficiency and customer experience.’
SHARES ASCEND
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell said: ‘Shares in IAG ascended to their highest level since February 2020, extending an impressive run for the stock and putting them ever closer to pre-Covid levels.
‘The airline is delivering non-stop good news and investors are loving every minute of the ride. Revenue and profit are growing, the balance sheet is stronger, dividends and buybacks are flowing nicely, and margins are improving.
‘Diversity of routes and brands means IAG can cope with weakness in the US leisure market. There’s plenty of strength elsewhere to pick up the slack.
‘There’s always more that can be done to put extra bums on seats as its planes aren’t flying full, but as airlines go, IAG is in a much stronger position than many of its peers.’
DISCLAIMER: Financial services company AJ Bell referenced in this article owns Shares magazine. The author of this article (Sabuhi Gard) and the editor (Martin Gamble) own shares in AJ Bell.
