BA's latest news in finances....

[Guest neil in england]

Here's some news from our finances department...do you think 'they doth protest too much???' perhaps...

BA claims big success in controlling costs

London (12Mar03, 11:05 GMT, 328 words)

British Airways (BA) is claiming a major success in meeting the tough

targets it set itself at the start of 2002, saying it has now taken more

than £1 billion of costs out of its operation and is on track to achieve

further savings.

In a bullish presentation to investors today, chief financial officer John

Rishton listed a lengthy series of savings achieved during last year, partly

encompassed by the Future Size and Shape restructuring, but also going wider

than that.

He detailed savings as follows: employment down 8%; handling and catering

12%; sales costs 15%; fuel and oil 27%; landing and en route charges 7%;

engineering and aircraft 4%; aircraft leasing 13%; depreciation and

amortisation 15%; accommodation and other 14%. All that, he says, totals

£1.1 billion.

And he points to a series of other key indicators: manpower is down by 9,600

people, capital expenditure was £50 million below target, net debt fell by

£1.4 billion, and the resulting net debt ratio is down to 59.6%.

Rishton says that the airline has been cashflow-positive at the operating

level ever since 11 September 2001 and cashflow-positive at the bottom line

throughout the last year.

Still sensitive about earlier concerns over the company's liquidity, he

stresses that "we have never had so much cash", putting the figure at £1.8

billion, plus £400 million of committed facilities and £2 billion of

realisable assets to give total liquidity of £4.2 billion.

BA sold only two of a planned seven widebody aircraft last year, deciding

that the market was too soft, but still made £350 million on aircraft

disposals and a total of £570 million on asset sales of all types.

Between 2004 and 2007 it is due to receive only 19 Airbus narrowbodies and

no other aircraft of any type.

General manager Ray Lyons sketched out a weak travel market however,

pointing to constantly tightening corporate travel policies, deep

discounting by rivals, and the emergence of low-cost carriers as major

challenges.

Source: Air Transport Intelligence news

[deicer]

Neil

It is good to see someone that is posting positive results these days.

I think that it is most highlighted by the fact that manpower was down. That is a lesson that AC has to learn. Only after the fat has been cut out can you actually start to move ahead, otherwise like a human body, the obesity just starts to cause other internal diseases.

Rgds...

Iceman