* Fails to give 2020 profit outlook
* Says will cancel more flights in coming days
(Adds industry background, details)
By Sarah Young
LONDON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - British Airways-owner IAG
said coronavirus would hit earnings this year but the
rapidly evolving nature of the outbreak means it cannot say by
how much.
Coronavirus, which emerged late last year in China, has sent
demand for travel plunging in recent weeks as the outbreak has
spread. Airlines are flying blind into a crisis of unknown
severity and duration.
IAG, which also owns Iberia and Aer Lingus, usually gives an
earnings forecast at this time of year but said the ongoing
uncertainty of the impact and duration of coronavirus meant it
could not give accurate profit guidance at this stage.
"It's a rapidly changing situation," Chief Executive Willie
Walsh told reporters. "I wouldn't call it unprecedented. We have
seen other challenges for the industry."
British Airways has in recent days cancelled flights to and
from Italy, Singapore and South Korea, after it suspended all
direct flights to China in January.
Low-cost airline easyJet also warned on Friday it
had seen a "significant" softening of demand for its northern
Italian bases, and would cancel flights and cut costs.
IAG said that it was cutting costs and implementing revenue
initiatives to help it weather the storm, following rival
airlines such as Germany's Lufthansa and
Amsterdam-based KLM which have cut costs in recent days.
At IAG, flight cancellations due to falling travel demand
would constrain capacity growth this year, it said, adding it
expected to cut more flights on its short-haul European network
in the coming days, in response to an outbreak of the virus in
Italy.
For 2019, IAG reported a 5.7% drop in operating profit to
3.285 billion euros, slightly ahead of a downgraded forecast of
3.27 billion euros it gave in September when it said a pilots
strike would result in a 215 million euros hit.
IAG CEO Willie Walsh is overseeing his last quarterly
results announcement before he hands the reins to new boss Luis
Gallego, currently the boss of IAG's Iberia airline, on March
26.
(Reporting by Sarah Young; editing by Kate Holton/Guy
Faulconbridge)