British Airways Reports First Quarterly Profit in Two Years

British Airways (BAIRY) posted its first quarterly profit in two years thanks to higher ticket prices.

The company reported earnings of 229 million pounds ($365 million) for the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with a loss of 111 million pounds a year earlier, according to Bloomberg News.

Sales rose 18% to 2.51 billion pounds.

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British Airways said that yields – a measure of fares – rose 20% in the second quarter.

"This is a cyclical recovery par excellence, driven by a phenomenal growth in yields," Douglas McNeill, an analyst at Charles Stanley, told Bloomberg News. "The question now is how long that can be sustained. Capacity is going to grow and that will limit further price improvements."

Still, British Airways warned that the economic environment "continues to be subject to uncertainty," and did not comment on its full-year earnings target.