IAG's first post-merger dividend could land in November

After having completed its restructuring and earning €16m in the second quarter, IAG has renewed confidence in Iberia, its Spanish subsidiary.In an interview with the Spanish daily Expansión, the airline's chief executive, Willie Walsh, expressed confidence in the Spanish subsidiary's ability to eventually generate the same profit margins as British Airways.Walsh backed up his argument with the fact that Iberia will continue to increase its flights to new destinations in Latin America in 2015 and will also open new routes to the Asian market in the medium-term.IAG's CEO explained to the newspaper that the biggest challenge for the British-Spanish conglomerate is to make sure that it puts in place a sustained dividend policy and suggested that the first post-merger dividend might be announced in November.With regard to the current political debate over the Spanish autonomous region of Catalonia's attempt to hold a referendum on independence, Walsh sidestepped the issue, telling Expansión that "the political context is not affecting reservations and Vueling (IAG's low-cost Spanish airline) is growing". He added that Vueling has a better reputation than Ryanair.Analysts from Spanish broker Ahorro Corporación Financiera considered the interview to be overall positive."We highlight the group's long-term backing for Iberia (after the large workforce and capacity reduction undertaken in 2013) with the 2015 goal of starting new routes and increasing the number of flights," they said in a research note to clients.