LATAM Airlines swings to Q1 profit
LATAM Airlines announced net income of US$102.2m in the three months to end-March. It made a loss of $39.9m in the same period last year. Revenue fell to $2.327b from $2.791b a year ago. The airline has struggled to fulfill the hopes behind its merger, held back by tough economic conditions and weakening currencies in the region. It has reported a full-year loss for the last four years and has said that its future recovery will be pinned to that of its key Brazilian market, which is mired in a deep recession and a political crisis with the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff looming. "We continue seeing a very challenging scenario in Brazil," said head of investor relations Gisela Escobar at a presentation to reporters. "As well as all the volatility that the political process is generating, business demand is not improving." The company said that it was accelerating capacity cuts in the Brazilian domestic market, aiming to shrink capacity by 12% in 2016, from a prior forecast of 8 to 10%. It also announced further fleet restructuring. Last quarter it had said that it wanted to reduce three-year fleet purchase commitments by almost $3b.<br/>
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LATAM Airlines swings to Q1 profit
LATAM Airlines announced net income of US$102.2m in the three months to end-March. It made a loss of $39.9m in the same period last year. Revenue fell to $2.327b from $2.791b a year ago. The airline has struggled to fulfill the hopes behind its merger, held back by tough economic conditions and weakening currencies in the region. It has reported a full-year loss for the last four years and has said that its future recovery will be pinned to that of its key Brazilian market, which is mired in a deep recession and a political crisis with the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff looming. "We continue seeing a very challenging scenario in Brazil," said head of investor relations Gisela Escobar at a presentation to reporters. "As well as all the volatility that the political process is generating, business demand is not improving." The company said that it was accelerating capacity cuts in the Brazilian domestic market, aiming to shrink capacity by 12% in 2016, from a prior forecast of 8 to 10%. It also announced further fleet restructuring. Last quarter it had said that it wanted to reduce three-year fleet purchase commitments by almost $3b.<br/>
