The German airline Lufthansa reduces its planned growth for 2019.
The German Lufthansa Group achieved an Adjusted EBIT of EUR 2.4 billion for the first nine months of 2018 – a 7.7 % decline on the same period last year period which is primarily attributable to the integration costs at Eurowings.
Adjusted EBIT margin for the period amounted to 8.8%. Nine-month results were also burdened by a €536 million rise in fuel costs, an increase in the costs incurred in connection with flight delays and cancellations, and higher maintenance expenses.
Carsten Spohr, Chairman of the Executive Board & CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, said “We expect to see our full-year costs increase by more than €1 billion in 2018 due to fuel costs and the extra expenses incurred from delays and cancellations alone. But despite this, we achieved an Adjusted EBIT of €2.4 billion for the first three quarters of this year, the second-best nine-month result in our history. And had it not been for the losses at Eurowings, we would have posted another record earnings result. This is a clear testament to our sustainable financial strength – a strength that we have demonstrated even under challenging conditions this year.”
Lufthansa Group generated total revenues of €26.9 billion in the first nine months of 2018. Total revenues increased by 6 % on the prior-year period, while traffic revenues were up 7%. As a result of the first-time adoption of the new IFRS 15 accounting standard, the reported growth of total revenues to €26.9 billion was only 0.5%, while the reported traffic revenues declined by 1 percent to € 21.1 billion.
Unit costs for the period remained stable excluding fuel and currency effects, despite the extraordinary expense. Unit revenues excluding currency effects increased 0.3%. The airlines of Lufthansa Group transported some 108.5 million passengers in the first three quarters of 2018, a new record volume. Nine-month seat load factor was also at a record high of 82%. The exceptionally strong capacity growth for the period, which was driven by the insolvency of Air Berlin, will be substantially lower in 2019.
