Lufthansa Group has reported 'record' second quarter results after increasing year-on-year revenue by 17 per cent to €9.4 billion, while "strong" demand is expected to continue into the second half of 2023.
The airline giant, which also owns Austrian Airlines, Swiss, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings, on Thursday (3 August) reported a net profit of €881 million for the second quarter, with all five of its passenger airlines achieving positive results following continued demand and capacity increases.
The group’s adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) almost tripled to €1.1 billion (compared to € 392 million for same period in 2022), with an margin of 11.6 per cent, which marked a record second quarter result, according to the group.
Lufthansa Group CEO Carsten Spohr said: "Thanks to the great efforts of our employees, we were able to avoid a situation like last summer and once again offer our customers a more stable operation… [and] it was our employees worldwide who made reliable flight operations and the financially best second quarter in our history possible.”
Despite higher operating costs linked to rising fuel prices and increased staff costs due to new employee hires, group revenue for the first half of 2023 increased 26 per cent year-on-year to €16.4 billion, with adjusted EBIT at €812 million.
Overall capacity (measured in available seat kilometres) increased 19 per cent year-on-year in the first half of 2023. For the second quarter, capacity on offer was at 83 per cent of pre-pandemic levels and the group said it plans to increase this further over the course for the year, particularly as it rebuilds long-haul connections to Asia.
Passenger traffic revenue from January to June increased 52 per cent year-on-year to €12 billion, partly due to “significantly higher yields”, according to the group.
Lufthansa German Airlines reported a “significant increase” in demand and higher unit revenues increased year-on-year revenue from January to June by 40 per cent to €7.3 billion. Adjusted EBIT for the first half of the year came in at €149 million.
Increased flight operations and higher unit prices saw revenue at Swiss increase 42 per cent year-on-year to €2.7 billion.
Austrian Airlines reported €1.06 billion in revenue, while Brussels Airlines and Eurowings posted revenues of €705 million and €1.1 billion, respectively.
During the second quarter, the group sold its Aurelius catering business and agreed a deal to acquire Italian national carrier ITA Airways.
The group anticipates overall capacity for the year to reach 85 per cent of pre-crisis levels – marking a 20 per cent increase on 2022, while adjusted EBIT for the full year is expected to reach “at least” €2.6 billion.
Spohr said two more A380s are expected to return to service this year, while new Boeing 787s and Airbus A350s will be delivered in 2024 – a year he looks to “with great optimism”.