Cost cutting saw British Airways beat expectations with annual pre-tax profit of £135m for the year to March 31. This compares with a loss of £20m in last year.
In a market tough for aviation companies, Europe's biggest airline warned that first-quarter revenues would be weaker than a year ago, with pressure from SARS, terror alerts, economic difficulties and the Iraq war.
'Visibility beyond the first quarter is not clear,' BA chairman Lord Marshall said in a statement, adding that 'the business environment will continue to be challenging in 2003 and 2004'.
Revenues at the airline fell 7.8% to £7.688 billion, while overall costs for the year fell by 11.9%. Net debt was reduced by £1.15 billion to £5.15 billion, its lowest level since September 1998.
