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IAG reported a net profit after taxes of 2.34 billion euros in the period January-September 2024, an 8.8% increase compared to the same period the previous year.
According to the aeronautical holding’s communication to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), the profit before taxes reached 2.955 billion euros, a 13% increase, while the operating profit increased by 10.5%, reaching 3.322 billion euros.
Announces a share buyback program worth 350 million
IAG reported a net profit after taxes of 2.34 billion euros in the period January-September 2024, representing an 8.8% increase compared to the same period the previous year, as reported by the aeronautical holding to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV).
Following the results, the company’s shares rose by 6.47% at 10:30 am to trade at 2.79 euros.
In the January-September period, the profit before taxes reached 2.955 billion euros, a 13% increase, while the operating profit increased by 10.5% to 3.322 billion euros.
The group’s revenue increased by 8.2% to reach 24.053 billion euros, with 21.313 coming from passengers (+9.2%). On the other hand, total operating expenses were 7.8% higher than the previous year, totaling 20.731 billion euros.
Of the total expenses, the largest portion is related to fuel, which recorded 5.868 million euros, a 5.2% increase, due to the increase in flights compared to the previous year. On the other hand, the item that increased the most is payroll, with a positive variation of 13.3% to 4.515 billion euros.
The group’s CEO, Luis Gallego, stated that they achieved «very solid» financial results in the third quarter, which is due to the «efficiency» in the execution of the strategy and the transformation of the entire group.
The company also announced a share buyback program worth 350 million focused on reducing its share capital, to be executed from November 11 to February 28, 2025.
As of September 30, 2024, IAG’s net debt amounted to 6.189 billion euros after a 33% reduction from the levels at the beginning of the year.
In terms of liquidity, IAG has 13.306 billion euros in cash and unused credit lines, a 14% increase, of which 9.837 billion euros (+43.8%) are cash, equivalent liquid assets, and interest-bearing deposits.
In the January-September period, IAG transported 92.975 million passengers (+6.2%), with a 6.9% increase in capacity and an 8% increase in demand. The occupancy rate increased by 0.8 percentage points to 86.8%.
The number of takeoffs during the period amounted to 562,308 (+4.4%), with a fleet of 599 aircraft in service (+4.5%). During these months, the company received 24 new aircraft, of which 17 had already been financed by September 30.
Looking ahead to the rest of the year, the company expects capacity to grow by 5% for the fourth quarter and 6% for the full year, with debt increasing slightly by December 31 and overall, the group’s strong financial performance to continue throughout the year.
According to Gallego, demand remains «strong» across all the group’s airlines, leading to expectations of a «good economic performance in the last quarter of 2024.»
UP TO 16.7% IN THE THIRD QUARTER
In the third quarter, IAG reported a net profit after taxes of 1.435 billion euros, a 16.7% increase, while the profit before taxes increased by 21% to 1.909 billion euros.
The operating profit also rose by 15.4% to 2.013 billion euros, while the period’s revenues increased by 7.9% to 9.329 billion euros.
The company’s CEO explained that these results are due to the efficiency in executing their strategy and the transformation they have achieved throughout the group.
350 MILLION BUYBACK PROGRAM
IAG has launched a share buyback program worth 350 million euros to reduce its share capital.
As reported by the company to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), Goldman Sachs Bank Europe and Morgan Stanley Europe will execute the program in consecutive tranches, acting on behalf of IAG and making all commercial decisions independently based on predefined parameters.
The Qatar Airways Group, the company’s largest shareholder, has agreed to participate in the Program in proportion to its current total stake in IAG (25.143%) to maintain this position.
Therefore, an agreement was reached with the banks not to sell IAG shares on the market during the program, but to offer the entities a number of shares proportional to the number of shares purchased on the market in each session and at a price per share equivalent to the volume-weighted average price at which they traded that day.
The program will start on November 11, 2024, and end before February 28, 2025, aiming to acquire up to 319,447,282 shares, representing 6.426% of the company’s share capital on November 8, 2024.
