Profit takes Bmi into the black
Bmi (formerly British Midland Airways) group is back in the black after today reporting a £2.1m (€3m) pre-tax profit for 2004.
The figure, achieved despite the rise in fuel costs, compared with a pre-tax loss of £9.8m (€14.2m) in 2003.
Bmi chairman Sir Michael Bishop said: “We have achieved a return to profitability ahead of expectations.
“A robust approach to controllable costs and an ability to compete effectively in exceedingly tough market conditions has had a positive impact on our trading results.”
Bmi group, which includes low-cost carrier bmibaby, carried 10.5 million passengers last year – an 11% rise on the 2003 figure of 9.4 million.
Planes were 70% full in 2004 – an improvement on the 2003 figure of 67%. Group turnover increased from £772m (€1.12bn) in 2003 to £830m (€1.2bn) in 2004.
Last year saw the introduction of new services out of Manchester to North America and the Caribbean.
Bmibaby carried 3.2 million passengers in 2004 – a 16% increase on the 2003 total of 2.8 million.
The no-frills carrier expanded its network to include full-year operations at Manchester and Durham Tees Valley airports and is also now flying from Birmingham.
However, there were fewer business cabin passengers using bmi scheduled services at Heathrow and this affected the group’s final figures.
Sir Michael said: “The bmi group is well placed to meet the future challenges as our 2004 results demonstrate. 2005 has started well and, providing market conditions remain stable, I am confident of a further improvement in the group’s results in the current year.”
