British Airways (BA) said today it had set aside £350 million (€512 million) to cover potential fines and claims relating to a breach of competition law.
The one-off hit, which BA took in its annual results, relates to the discovery last year that it broke competition law by discussing fuel surcharges with competitors.
That meant bottom-line pre-tax profits were £611 million, against £616 million a year earlier.
At an operating level, BA said it had achieved strong results in a "challenging year" after annual operating profits hit £602 million.
Although the figure was better than City expectations, it still came in short of the £694 million seen a year earlier after BA saw a £350 million hike in fuel costs.
Increased security measures, fog and cabin crew disputes also affected the results.