Company Watch - Iberia.

For more company news, data and analysis, please go to: http://www.airguideonline.com/professional.htm Aug 7, 2006

Iberia flew 13.42 billion RPKs during the second quarter, up 12.4%, and 16.81 billion ASKs, up 6.1%. Load factor climbed 4.5 points to 79.8% and passenger revenues increased 16.7% to [euro]1.04 billion on a 3.8% rise in yield to 7.73 cents. Operating RASK grew 8.2% to 8.29 cents while unit costs were up 9.7% to 7.99 cents, or 1.4% to 6.19 cents excluding fuel. Aug 3, 2006

Iberia's econd-quarter turnover rose 19.2% to [euro]1.45 billion, which the airline attributed to "strong" yield increases and higher load factors on international flights, against a 21% increase in costs to [euro]1.4 billion driven by fuel and maintenance costs. Operating profit dropped 18.8% to [euro]48.9 million. IB said its 17.3% decline in EBIT to [euro]49.3 million was due to the application of IAS 39 international accounting standards and that the figure otherwise would have improved 40% to [euro]83.4 million. Fuel costs increased 62.2% to [euro]116 million, including [euro]10 million in hedging gains. Aug 3, 2006

Rising costs mean lower profits at Iberia. Revenues, traffic, yields and load factor all rose at Iberia in the second quarter but not as fast as costs, which outstripped the carrier's operational progress and reduced its three-month profit to [euro]35.7 million ($45.6 million), down 21.2% from earnings of [euro]45.3 million in the year-ago quarter.The first half ended with a [euro]9.2 million loss compared to a [euro]29.2 million profit in the first half of 2005. Aug 3, 2006

Iberia's efforts to return its Barcelona operations to normal following Friday's action by ground workers included the transfer of more than 100 employees from other airports, two additional aircraft and the placement of extra staff on all shifts until Wednesday, it said yesterday, adding that the airport "is now operating normally" although the carrier is still working on shipping baggage. "Iberia is to launch an internal probe to ascertain responsibility for the wildcat strike on Friday which took place with no advance warning, and led to the invasion of the landing field of Barcelona's airport, as well as damage to equipment," it said. Aug 1, 2006

Iberia canceled all flights to and from Barcelona International on Friday and Saturday morning after some 2,000 ground workers blocked one of the airport's three runways. The action reportedly was in protest of the airline's loss of a ground-handling license at BCN. It still holds 21 of 27 licenses at the airport, according to AFX News, but earlier last week AENA awarded a concession to a Spanish construction and services company and to subsidiaries of Spanair and Air Europa. IB suffered a three-day pilots strike earlier this month over its plans to launch a Barcelona based LCC. Jul 31, 2006