British Airways owner IAG beats annual profit estimates

(Corrects paragraph 2 to say 5.02 billion euros, not million, and profit rise to 13%, not 3.5%; corrects dateline)

Feb 27 (Reuters) - British Airways owner IAG reported a better-than-expected annual profit on Friday as it benefited from lower fuel costs and resilience on its core transatlantic routes, particularly for its premium services. 

IAG reported an operating profit before exceptional items of 5.02 billion euros ($5.93 billion), compared with 4.97 billion euros projected by analysts polled by LSEG. That's up 13% from last year's adjusted operating profit of 4.44 billion euros.

($1 = 0.8471 euros)

(Reporting by Raechel Thankam Job in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)