Iberia Posts First-Half Net Earning of 20.7 Million Euros

Iberia presented yesterday the results for the first half of the year. In the first six months of 2008 the airline generated consolidated profit after taxes of €20.7 million and profit from operating activities of €6.3 million. The EBITDAR came to 259.3 million euros, 34.2 percent less than in the same period of 2007.

Revenues from operating activities rose slightly year-on-year, up to €2.67 billion, despite the impact of the sharp depreciation of the dollar.

Total passenger revenue narrowed 1.5 percent on first half of 2007, mainly due to the slide in the dollar. The drop in passenger revenue was more than offset by the growth in the other items of recurring revenue from operating activities (€35.4 million in total).

In the first half of 2008 costs from operating activities climbed 4.1 percent, due mainly to the sharp rise in fuel costs (the price for a barrel of Brent crude oil reached €139 at the end of June 2008, rising 89 percent over the last twelve months).

The Iberia Group’s fuel costs reached 732.1 million euros in the first six months of 2008, some 27.1 percent of its recurring operating costs and 30.4 percent of total costs at the transport business; this means an increase in fuel costs of 37.5 percent year-on-year.

Excluding fuel, the other headings making up costs from operating activities declined by 4.5 percent on aggregate on first half of 2007. Unit operating expenses narrowed 6.2 percent.

In this period, recurring personnel expenses narrowed 1.4 percent, thanks to the reduction of the total workforce by 3.8 percent and the 5.8 percent increase of productivity measured as ASK (available seat kilometer) per employee.