LATAM Airlines' Q4 profit slides 95% from post-bankruptcy boost

LATAM Airlines on Thursday posted a 95% year-on-year fall in net profit in Q4 to $84m, as its operations stabilized after exiting bankruptcy in late 2022. The sharp drop for the final three months of 2023 reflected a normalization for LATAM after it was boosted a year earlier by an $8b restructuring plan, finance chief Ramiro Alfonsin told reporters. LATAM's passenger traffic, as measured in the metric of available seat kilometers (ASK), grew 14.7% in the quarter, just under 2019's growth rate. The carrier, which currently operates a 333-plane fleet, plans to add eight narrow body planes in the year while shedding one wide body and a cargo aircraft. LATAM's need for narrow body aircraft recently put it in hot water with Brazilian carrier Gol, which accused its competitor of trying to poach its planes as Gol undergoes bankruptcy proceedings. "It's not news that we grew a lot in 2023 and will continue to seek growth in 2024," Brazil head Jerome Cadier told journalists. "We've been in constant contact with lessors and suppliers looking for narrow body planes." LATAM will extend leases for some Airbus A319 and A320 planes this year which it had originally planned on retiring from the fleet, Alfonsin said. The airline's adjusted EBITDAR - earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortization and restructuring or rent costs - increased in the quarter by 29.9% year-on-year to $675m.<br/>