Lufthansa notches first Q1 profit in nine years

Lufthansa posted its first opening quarter operating profit since 2008, as revenues climbed more than 11% and freight traffic rose. The German airline group, which also includes Austrian Airlines, Swiss, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings, posted E16m in earnings before interest and taxes, versus a E49m loss the year before. Adjusted EBIT was E25m, versus analysts’ forecasts for a loss of E45m. Revenues were up 11.2% to E7.7b, ahead of estimates at E7.2b. Ulrik Svensson, CFO, said the numbers showed the company was on a successful track thanks to “significantly higher traffic revenues” and a positive pricing environment. Passenger traffic rose 13% and cargo sales were up 8.3%. Nearly 5 percentage points of the passenger traffic increase reflects the incorporation of revenue from Brussels Airlines, which it acquired in December. “For a period that is traditionally difficult for the airline industry, we have posted our first positive earnings result since 2008,” Svensson said. “This is mainly attributable to favourable trends at Lufthansa Cargo and strong growth at Lufthansa Technik. This demonstrates the strength of our broad setup as aviation group.” He said cost control would continue to be a priority. In the quarter, non-fuel constant currency unit costs at the Group’s airlines rose by 1.4%.<br/>