Lufthansa flies back into profit in Q1

FRANKFURT-Agence France-Presse

REUTERS Photo

German airline Lufthansa said on May 5 it flew back into the black in the first three months of the year, powered particularly by the good performance of its Swiss and Lufthansa Cargo subsidiaries.

Lufthansa said in a statement it booked a net profit of 425 million euros ($473 million) in the period from January to March, compared with a loss of 252 million euros a year earlier.

“All operating business segments were able to increase their results in the first quarter. Above all, SWISS and Lufthansa Cargo have done better than in the previous year,” said chief financial officer, Simone Menne.  
 
 “But Lufthansa German Airlines has also shown a positive development, although it was worse hit by strikes and other one-off effects than in the previous year.”  
   
At an underlying level, Lufthansa said it narrowed its first-quarter operating loss to 133 million euros from 209 million euros and revenues grew by 7.9 percent to 6.973 billion euros.  
  
“We see positive developments in the result and in cash flow. This shows we are on the right course,” said CFO Menne.

 “At the same time, we continue to see great pressure to act. The enormous pension burdens are putting considerable pressure on our equity. And we cannot accept the continuing increase in fees or the development of our unit costs. Great efforts remain to be made here in order to strengthen the international competitiveness of all the business segments of the Lufthansa group,” she said.  
   
The airline is currently involved in a bitter labor dispute with its pilots over their early retirement rules and the pilots have staged a series of walkouts since last year, weighing on the group’s earnings.