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«We are making progress on the acquisition of Ita Airways although more slowly than expected. We continue in an intense dialogue with the European Commission to reach a green light as soon as possible.” The CEO of the Lufthansa group, Carsten Spohr, speaking to journalists on the occasion of the presentation of the 2023 financial data, said that obtaining the green light as soon as possible will allow Ita Airways not only to survive but to have a role in the airline sector in Europe. Lufthansa also remains interested in the proivatization of Portuguese Tap Airways. “We are waiting to understand what the government will do, but we cannot acquire two companies at the same time.”
Lufthansa closes 2023 with a turnover that rose to 35.4 billion euros
Lufthansa closes 2023 with a turnover that rose to 35.4 billion euros compared to 30.9 billion euros in 2022 and with an operating profit of 2.7 billion euros compared to 1.5 billion euros the previous year. The German group more than doubled its net profit to 1.7 billion euros against 790 million euros. For the first time since the pandemic, the company has decided to return to distributing a dividend to shareholders of 0.30 cents per share.
However the impact of the strikes and falling logistics profits will lead to an operating loss in the first quarter of 2024, the company said, offsetting strong post-Covid travel demand. The fourth quarter had already shown signs of weakness with net profits which settled at 67 million euros against 307 million euros in the same period of 2022. However, «the group remains committed to its objective of generating an adjusted EBIT margin of at least 8%” we read in the press release. Net debt falls to 5.7 billion euros compared to 6.9 billion euros in 2022, reaching approximately 1 billion euros below the pre-crisis level.
Lufthansa carried over 120 million passengers in 2023
Over the course of last year, the carrier carried over 120 million passengers, 20% more than in 2022, and for the first time all airlines in the group reported an operating profit. SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings all achieved record results, we read in a statement: In 2023 the turnover of the aviation division rose to 28.3 billion euros compared to 22.8 billion euros in the previous year.
Lufthansa expects average capacity of around 94% compared to 2019 for 2024
Travel demand continues to be strong in the current year and for this reason the Lufthansa Group expects average capacity of around 94% compared to 2019, equal to a growth of 12% compared to 2023.