Analysts had predicted losses of up to £150 million for BA (British Airways) for the final three months of 2009, but the company weighed in with a loss of £50m, down significantly from the £122 it lost during that period in 2008. Its financial year ends in March, so the figures are for the company’s third quarter. Willie Walsh, chief executive, told journalists Friday morning 5 February that cost-cutting was responsible for the improvement, with costs reduced by more than 10 percent. The figures look less rosy for the financial year as a whole, compared to the first three quarters of 2008-09, with a loss more than four times as great. But Q3 did show an operating profit, and Walsh insists that the company’s structural changes are having a positive impact on its finances. Difficult negotiations continue with staff over pay cuts and the BA pension plan, with staff voting until 22 February on whether to strike.
Links to other sites: BA, BBC, Financial Times
This work by genevalunch.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported.
News story, GenevaLunch, 5 February 2010.
Filed under: World news
Tags: BA, British Airways, cost cutting, financial report, improved, losses
February 25th, 2010 at 6:21 pm
If the strike does go ahead it’s only going to make BA’s financial situation worse due to its damaged reputation. Which will necessitate further cost cutting in the future. So it seems like it might be a case of cutting off your nose to spite your face by the staff involved. It’s in their interests for the company to survive.