New Alignment of the Lufthansa Group Leads to Significant Profit Improvement

The Lufthansa Group has increased its total revenues by 12.7 per cent to EUR 17.0 billion in the first six months of 2017 (prior-year period: EUR 15.0 billion). Traffic revenues were up by 14.2 per cent to EUR 13.3 billion (prior-year period: EUR 11.6 billion). And the key earnings indicator Adjusted EBIT was roughly doubled to over EUR 1 billion (prior-year period: EUR 529 million), giving the Lufthansa Group its best-ever first half year earnings result.

The earnings performance is attributable primarily to strong demand and lower unit costs at the Group’s passenger airlines. Unit costs excluding fuel and currency effect declined by 1.2 per cent in the first half-period, and by 3.4 per cent in the second quarter alone. Unit revenues at constant currency were raised by 0.5 per cent, and by 1.8 per cent in the second quarter. Load factors were up on their prior-year levels in all traffic regions, despite increased capacity. The Adjusted EBIT margin of 6.1 per cent was a 2.6-percentage-point improvement on the prior-year period. Higher fuel costs burdened the result with EUR 223 million: at EUR 2.6 billion, first half-year fuel costs were 9.5 per cent up on their prior-year level. All the Group’s first half-year performance figures and fuel costs include the impact of the first-time consolidation of Brussels Airlines and of the aircraft wet-leased from Air Berlin.

“We have achieved the best first half-year result in our company’s history,” says Ulrik Svensson, Chief Financial Officer of Deutsche Lufthansa AG. “In addition to strong demand and a robust pricing environment, this is attributable to the fact that we achieved a further structural reduction in costs. Our hard work in cutting our costs is reaping its rewards. But we must continue these endeavors: this is the most important way that our margins can be improved sustainably.”