IATA cuts 2011 profit forecast, looks to Asia for leadership

IATA downgraded (02-Mar-2010) its profit forecast for the airline industry from its Dec-2010 forecast of USD9.1 billion to USD8.6 billion due to the rising cost of fuel, which is expected to be 29% of total costs this year compared with 26% in 2010. Oil has increased from USD84 per barrel in Dec-2010 to USD96 per barrel. Details of IATA's revised profit forecast for 2011 are as follows:

• Revenue: USD594 million, +7.6% year-on-year;
• Costs: USD575 million, +9.7%;
  • Fuel: USD166 million, +19.4%;
• Operating profit: 18.4 million, -32.8%;
• Net profit: USD8.6 million, -46.3%;
  • North America: USD3.2 billion, -31.9%;
  • Europe: USD0.5 billion, -64.3%;
  • Asia Pacific: USD3.7 billion, -51.3%;
  • Middle East: USD0.7 million, -36.4%;
  • Latin America: USD0.3 billion, -70%;
  • Africa: Breakeven, compared with a profit of USD0.1 billion in p-c-p;
• Passenger numbers: 2570 million, +5.4%;
• Passenger yield: +1.5%;
• Cargo volume: 46.2 million tonnes, +6.0%;
• Cargo yield: +1.9%. [more]

IATA: "So the future of this industry is being built in Asia. I know that we have many people on this call from Asia. We will be looking to airlines in that wonderful and growing part of the world to play a much bigger role in shaping a more profitable future for this industry," Giovanni Bisignani, CEO. Source: IATA, 02-Mar-2011.