Portuguese airline TAP swings to first-half profit on strong revenue

Portugal's flag carrier TAP said on Wednesday that it swung to a net profit of E23m in H1 2023 on strong revenue growth, boosted by booming tourism, and forecast a strong performance for the remainder of the year. The unlisted state-owned airline, which the government plans to partially privatise, was E202m in the red in the same period of 2022. It said its operating revenue jumped 44% to E1.9b from a year earlier, driven by increased fares and higher capacity as demand for travel returned in force after the lifting of COVID restrictions. TAP's recurring earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) jumped 57% to E361.7m and its EBITDA margin - a measure of profitability - rose to 19% from 17.4% a year ago. CEO Luis Rodrigues said the results showed the company's sustained trend of commercial and financial improvement and that "the operating margins and deleveraging path, above the targets of the restructuring plan, prove the group's financial sustainability". He noted that demand was still strong, with bookings for the coming quarters reaching "considerable levels, which indicates an intense second half of the year, for which TAP will be prepared". The airline, which is undergoing a restructuring under a Brussels-approved E3.2b rescue plan, has previously said it carried 7.58m passengers between January and June, a 30% increase from a year ago but still slightly below pre-pandemic levels.<br/>