Air carrier IAG announced on Friday that it had made a "good start to the year" on the back of strong demand, and was "well positioned" for the summer season.

The owner of Aer Lingus, British Airways and Iberia, among others, posted first-quarter operating profit of 68 million euros excluding exceptional items, compared with a profit of just nine million a year earlier.

This performance was significantly better than the 48 million euros expected by analysts, according to a consensus provided by the Group.

Its loss after tax was reduced to four million euros, after a shortfall of 87 million euros a year earlier.

Sales totalled 6.4 billion euros, compared with 5.9 billion euros for the same period last year, driven by an 8.6% increase in traffic, with nearly 26.4 million passengers carried.

Unit revenue per passenger rose by 4.4%, while fuel costs fell by 4.9% thanks to the effectiveness of its oil-hedging strategy.

Without providing any figures, IAG said it was "well positioned" for the crucial summer season, adding that it expected long-term favorable and sustainable demand in the airline sector.

"We see potential for positive surprises compared with consensus estimates for 2024", commented analysts at RBC this morning, who have an "outperform" rating on the stock.

Following this publication, IAG shares were up by around 0.8% on Friday morning on the London Stock Exchange. The share has now gained nearly 20% since the beginning of the year.

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