IAG Cargo reports mixed results

IAG Cargo has announced mixed results as it published its third quarter and year-to-date financial figures.

The airfreight carrier reported revenue of €373m in the third quarter of 2022, down 7.9% on the same period of last year.

However, its year-to-date revenue (January to September) reached €1,216m, up by 3.6% compared to the January to September figure for 2021.

IAG Cargo reported commercial revenue of €1,673m over the whole of 2021.

Compared with the same period of 2019, cargo revenue over the first three quarters of the year was up by €391m, or 47.4%.

IAG Cargo flew 951m cargo tonne-km in the third quarter of this year, down by 3.7% on the same three months of 2021.

In terms of volume of cargo flown, the figure of 132,000 tonnes was down 1.5% year-on-year.

Over the January to September period, AIG Cargo flew a total of 407m cargo tone-km, up by 6.5% year-on-year.

In terms of cargo volumes, the figure of 407,000 tonnes was up 6.5% compared to the first nine months of 2021.

Significantly more capacity was made available in the quarter. In fact, available capacity across the IAG Cargo network was up by 35.9% year-on-year, as measured in available tone-km.

Capacity on the sector linking London Heathrow, Madrid and the US more than doubled in capacity compared to the third quarter of last year.

Yield, as measured in revenue per cargo tonne-km, was down by 4.3% year-on-year in the third quarter, but up by 1.8% over the first three quarters of this year compared to 2021.

The carrier said that yields have risen so far this year due in large part to supply chain disruption, particularly in the first half of this year.

In this recent third quarter, IAG Cargo’s perishables shipment product, Constant Fresh achieved a solid performance with flown volumes rising by 114% year-on-year.

A statement from the airfreight carrier said that additional capacity out of the US had represented an “important lifeline” to US perishables growers transporting their goods across the Atlantic.

A large number of these perishable commodities were destined for the Middle East, to where flights from IAG Cargo’s Heathrow hub have doubled since the third quarter of 2021.

The carrier has continued to promote its loyalty programme intended for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), FORWARD.REWARDS. It pointed out that, since the beginning of this year, the number of transactions it has had with SME customers has increased by 20% on 2021.

IAG Cargo has been offering FORWARD.REWARDS for five years.

Expanding its contact with freight forwarder trade bodies, IAG Cargo signed a new deal with Neutral Air Partner – a network of more than 300 air cargo specialists from more than 150 countries – in June this year, whilst also continuing to work closely with the WCAworld network of freight forwarders.

Commenting on parent company IAG’s overall third-quarter results, Luis Gallego, IAG’s chief executive, said: “We achieved another strong performance in the third quarter, with an operating profit of €1.2bn and liquidity of over €13b.

“All our airlines were significantly profitable,” he observed, adding: “As we build back our operational resilience, we are confident in our strengths as a group: first, a portfolio of leading airline brands; second, leading positions in our key markets and hubs; and third, the flexibility afforded by IAG to drive operational efficiency and innovation.

“These will enable us to return to pre-Covid levels of profit and generate long-term value for all our stakeholders,” Gallego concluded.