BA Cargo fiscal year revenue plummets

BA Cargo fiscal year revenue plummets    British Airways World Cargo said Friday its revenue decreased 18.2 percent to $791 million in its fiscal year ending March 31.
   The U.K. national carrier said commercial revenue was off 26.1 percent when the impact of favorable exchange rates is considered.
   Cargo volume fell 2.2 percent during the fiscal year, while yield decreased 16.4 percent. All this came despite a robust fourth quarter (January through March) in which revenue grew 9.2 percent and volume grew 5.8 percent.
   'Demand for cargo continued to improve in the fourth quarter, following the high unanticipated peak in the third quarter, led by demand for additional capacity out of China and South-East Asian markets,' said Rachel Izzard, financial controller of BA World Cargo. 'These markets continue to maintain a high level of demand for air freight and our decision to maintain our freighter routes enabled us to build upon this recovery. Demand for our premium products has also remained strong with volumes maintained in spite of the ongoing global economic turbulence.
   'While, we experienced some disruption to our schedule as a result of the heavy snow and ongoing industrial action, our innovative response in terms of scheduling solutions and the deployment of our comprehensive trucking network meant that we were able to minimize the impact across the cargo business.'
   The company did not release details about profits or losses.