IATA: Share prices continue to fall while oil prices rise

IATA released (12-Jun-2018) its Jun-2018 Airlines Financial Monitor. Key highlights include:

• Latest financial data continues to show industry profitability improved in 1Q2018 year-on-year. IATA said the pickup in industry level performance was driven by a turnaround in European airlines;
• Investor concerns about the impact of rising fuel prices on future airline financial performance saw global airline prices fall for the fourth month in a row in May-2018. The global airline price index has now fallen by 8.5% since the start of 2018, continuing to unperformed the global equity market;
• Oil prices increased in May-2018, driven by tighter market supply and ongoing geo-political tensions. At the time of writing the report the Brent crude oil price is approximately USD76/bbl - almost 60% higher year-on-year;
• Seasonally adjusted trends in passenger and freight demand continued to diverge. While industry wide passenger load factor continued to set new records, the corresponding freight load factor has fallen back to levels last witnessed at the start of 2017;
• The premium cabin's share of international passenger revenues fell to 30.6% in 1Q2018, from 31.1% in 2017. IATA maintained the cabin continues to provide an important buffer for airline financial performance. [more - original PR]