IAG presented Group consolidated results for the year to December 31, 2015

IAG period highlights on results: 

·      Fourth quarter operating profit €540 million excluding Aer Lingus and before exceptional items (2014: operating profit of €260 million), including Aer Lingus €530 million

·      Passenger unit revenue for the quarter up 3.1 per cent. Excluding Aer Lingus and at constant currency down 3.7 per cent including approximately 1 point adverse impact from Paris attacks

·      Non-fuel unit costs before exceptional items for the quarter up 2.4 per cent. Excluding Aer Lingus and at constant currency down 3.9 per cent

·      Fuel unit costs before exceptional items for the quarter down 13.4 per cent, down 23.9 per cent at constant currency

·      Operating profit for the year to December 31, 2015 of €2,300 million excluding Aer Lingus and before exceptional items (2014: operating profit of €1,390 million), up 65 per cent, including Aer Lingus €2,335 million

·      Revenue for the year up 13.3 per cent to €22,858 million and passenger unit revenue for the year down 3.5 per cent at constant currency

·      Fuel unit costs for the year before exceptional items down 6.3 per cent, down 17.2 per cent at constant currency

·      Non-fuel unit costs for the year before exceptional items up 4.3 per cent, down 3.9 per cent at constant currency

·      Cash of €5,856 million at December 31, 2015 was up €912 million on 2014 year end, including €772 million from Aer Lingus

·      Adjusted gearing up 3 points to 54 per cent and adjusted net debt to EBITDAR remained constant at 1.9 times including Aer Lingus 

Performance summary: 

	Year to December 31
Financial data € million	2015	2014	Higher / (lower)
Passenger revenue	20,350	17,825	14.2 %
Total revenue	22,858	20,170	13.3 %
Operating profit before exceptional items	2,335	1,390	68.0 %
Exceptional items	(17)	(361)	(95.3)%
Operating profit after exceptional items	2,318	1,029	125.3 %
Profit after tax	1,516	1,003	51.1 %
Basic earnings per share (€ cents)	73.5	48.2	25.3 pts
Operating figures	2015	2014	Higher / (lower)
Available seat kilometres (ASK million)	272,702	251,931	8.2 %
Seat factor (per cent)	81.4	80.4	1pt
Passenger unit revenue per ASK (€ cents)	7.46	7.08	5.4 %
Non-fuel unit costs per ASK (€ cents)	5.30	5.08	4.3 %
€ million	December 31,	December 31,	Higher / (lower)
	2015	2014
Cash and interest-bearing deposits	5,856	4,944	18.4 %
Adjusted net debt(1)	8,510	6,081	39.9 %
Adjusted net debt to EBITDAR	1.9	1.9	0pts
Adjusted gearing(2)	54%	51%	3pts
(1)Adjusted net debt is net debt plus capitalised rolling four quarter aircraft operating lease costs.
(2)Adjusted gearing is adjusted net debt, divided by adjusted net debt and adjusted equity.

 Willie Walsh, IAG Chief Executive Officer, said:

"We're reporting very strong full year results with an operating profit before exceptional items of €2,335 million including Aer Lingus. At constant currency, passenger unit revenue was down 3.5 per cent with non-fuel unit costs down 3.9 per cent and fuel unit costs down 17.2 per cent. 

"Aer Lingus has made a positive contribution of €35 million operating profit since it joined the Group on 18 August last year.

"These results are in line with our recent target and have exceeded our original 2015 operating profit target of €1.5 billion that we set in 2011. It's undoubtedly been a good year but it's also been challenging with extreme volatility in the currency and fuel markets. The benefits gained from lower fuel prices have been partially offset by the stronger US dollar. 

"In the quarter, we made an operating profit before exceptional items of €530 million including Aer Lingus. 

"We're pleased to confirm that the Board is proposing a final dividend to shareholders of 10 euro cents per share, which brings the full year dividend to 20 euro cents, subject to shareholder approval at our AGM in June." 

Trading outlook 

In 2016, IAG expects to generate an absolute operating profit increase similar to 2015. Revenue trends in quarter 1 appear broadly in line with those experienced in quarter 4 2015.