BMI halves pre-tax losses to £9.8m

Airline group Bmi said it halved pre-tax losses to £9.8m last year despite the impact of the Sars virus and the Iraq war.

The group said 2003 was another tough year, with the impact on travel of Sars and the second Gulf war hitting it in the first half of the year.

While losses fell from £19.6m the previous year, trading profits before overheads, interest and one-off items rose to £23.5m from £5.1m previously.