British Airways increases annual profits despite poor 4th quarter

British Airways increases annual profits despite poor 4th quarter    British Airways’ fiscal fourth quarter net profit declined 25 percent for the period ended March 31, to '9 million ($17 million), compared to '12 million in the same period the year before, but its annual profits improved.
   British Airways’ fourth quarter operating profit was up 25 percent to '40 million ($74 million) from '32 million in the first quarter of 2003. Revenues rose 1.9 percent to '1.88 billion ($3.5 billion).
   For the full fiscal year, ended March 31, British Airways’ net profits soared 93 percent to '251 million ($466 million) from '129 million in the year-earlier period. Operating profit increased 33 percent to '540 million ($1 billion), while total revenues improved 3 percent to '7.8 billion ($14.5 billion). Revenues from cargo rose 4 percent to '482 million ($895 million).
   Over the financial year, British Airways handled 4.9 billion cargo ton-kilometers, an 11 percent increase over the last financial year.
   “Market conditions remain broadly unchanged. For the year to March 2006, total revenue is expected to improve by 4-5 percent, up from 3-4 percent due to the impact of the latest fuel surcharges. Capacity and volumes are expected to increase by about 3 per cent with total yield flat,” said Martin Broughton, British Airways chairman.