British Airways owner IAG's H1 revenue rises 1% on strong travel demand

International Consolidated Airlines

31/07/2026 07:10

Overview
Airline group's H1 revenue rose 1% yr/yr, driven by strong travel demand
Adjusted operating profit for H1 declined 6.4% yr/yr due to higher fuel costs
Company says disciplined cost control partly offset impact of significant fuel price increase

Outlook
IAG expects full-year operating margin within its 12% to 15% target range
Company now expects 2026 capacity (ASK) to be flat versus 2025
IAG expects significant free cash flow generation for 2026

Result Drivers
TRAVEL DEMAND - Co said revenue growth was driven by continued strong demand for travel and its diverse portfolio of brands and markets
FUEL COSTS - Higher fuel prices weighed on operating profit, with around 60% of the increase recovered through revenue growth and cost initiatives
CAPACITY REDUCTION - Capacity was lower than planned due to the impact of the Middle East crisis and wider geopolitical events

Company press release: ID:nRSe6982Oa

Key Details
Metric
Beat/Miss
Actual
Consensus Estimate
H1 Adjusted Net Income
 
EUR 1.15 bln
 
H1 Adjusted Operating Profit
 
EUR 1.76 bln
 
H1 Operating Profit
 
EUR 1.61 bln
 

Analyst Coverage
The current average analyst rating on the shares is "buy" and the breakdown of recommendations is 13 "strong buy" or "buy", no "hold" and 1 "sell" or "strong sell"
The average consensus recommendation for the airlines peer group is "hold."
Wall Street's median 12-month price target for International Consolidated Airlines Group SA is GBp570.00, about 30% above its July 30 closing price of GBp438.60
The stock recently traded at 7 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 6 three months ago

Reuters Recommended Reads
July 30 - Air France-KLM Q2 revenue rises 9.9% but profit falls on fuel costs
July 28 - JetBlue recaptures nearly half of fuel cost surge, beats Street estimates
July 28 - Singapore Airlines posts first quarterly loss since 2022 

For questions concerning the data in this report, contact Estimates.Support@lseg.com. For any other questions or feedback, contact reuters.support@thomsonreuters.com.

(This story was created using Reuters automation and AI based on LSEG and company data. It was checked and edited by a Reuters journalist prior to publication.)