AFP – German airline giant Lufthansa more than doubled its profits in 2023, extending a rebound from the coronavirus pandemic even as it faces fresh risks from a wave of industrial action.
The group reported yesterday a net profit of EUR1.67 billion (USD1.82 billion), up substantially from a figure of EUR791 million in 2022. It was slightly below an estimate by analysts surveyed by financial data firm FactSet.
But it still marks a second straight year of profits for the group – whose carriers include Lufthansa, Eurowings, Austrian, Swiss and Brussels Airlines – after two years of losses due to pandemic-related border closures.
“The Lufthansa group has regained its financial strength,” chief executive Carsten Spohr said in a statement. 2023 was “one of the three best years in Lufthansa group’s history”, he added.
Revenues increased 15 per cent to over EUR35 billion, while a total of 123 million passengers flew with the group’s airlines, up 20 per cent from the previous year, although still below pre-pandemic record levels.
The group said it wants to pay shareholders a dividend for the first time since 2019, prior to the coronavirus pandemic.
