The Lufthansa Group has celebrated some of the best annual results in its history for 2023 but warned that losses in the first quarter of 2024 could be higher amid strike action and a decline in profits for its logistics division.
The Germany-based group said that its financial result for FY 2023 was the third best in its history with revenue at €35.4bn and a net profit of €1.7bn, more than double the €790m profit recorded in 2022, leading to the first dividend paid to shareholders since the pandemic.
Carsten Spohr, CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa, said: “The Lufthansa Group has regained its financial strength. I would like to thank our customers for their continued loyalty and each and every one of our approximately 100,000 employees.”
Spohr also highlighted the €4.5bn investment being put into the company this year, including the group’s largest fleet modernisation that will see at least 30 aircraft delivered this year, with another 220 on order.
Additionally, the group saw an increase of more than 20 million passengers across all its airlines to 123 million, a record result for its Lufthansa Technik business with an operating profit of €628m, and an operating profit from all of its passenger airlines for the first time.
Remco Steenbergen, CFO of Deutsche Lufthansa, marked the group’s strong post-pandemic recovery, saying: “Over the past three years, I have had the privilege of supporting the company in overcoming the crisis and putting the group back on a solid financial footing.
“The Lufthansa Group has set itself the goal of continuing to pursue the path of profitable growth in order to increase the operating margin in the long term and continue to create value in the future.”
However, despite the successful results, the group’s outlook for Q1 2024 also warned of a higher adjusted EBIT loss than in the same quarter last year, stating that its logistics division would particularly suffer from a decline in profits as it no longer benefits from the strong air freight market performance seen during and in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic.
However, the group is still expecting to see further increases in its revenue for FY 2024, thanks to the sustained strong demand for air travel and plans such as the “Ambition 2030” plan underway at its Lufthansa Technik maintenance subsidiary.
