Little sign of post-Brexit recovery at IAG

There was little to cheer watchers of the post-Brexit UK economy in results from BA owner IAG. Corporate bookings from Britain, which weakened significantly ahead of the vote, have yet to return to normal. CE Willie Walsh anticipates a recovery next year, but this is the corporate equivalent of mañana. IAG was first out of the blocks with a profit warning on the very morning the referendum result was announced. That paved the way for Friday’s Q2 numbers and — more importantly — outlook statement to look modestly reassuring. The crucial point was that management expects low double-digit growth in operating profits this year. That includes at least E80m in H2 disruption costs, mainly due to air-traffic control strikes that have already happened. It also reflects a slowing pace of expansion: Strip out the acquisition of Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus and IAG now expects to fly 4.5% more distance-adjusted seats this year than in 2015, down from 5.3% growth in February. Otherwise the company is keeping its calculations close to its chest. <br/>