The Lufthansa Group has reported a first quarter 2021 net loss of €1.0 billion or (€1.75) per share on a year over year revenue decline of 60 percent to €2.6 billion. The Group reported and adjusted EBIT loss for the first quarter of €1.1 billion.
On Thursday (April 29, 2021), the Lufthansa Group reported their first quarter 2021 financial results. The Group reported a first quarter net loss of €1.0 billion of (€1.75) per share on a 60 percent year-over-year decline in revenue to €2.6 billion, while the company’s Q1 adjusted EBIT loss was €1.1 billion. During the first quarter, the company’s operating expenses were 51 percent lower than the same period last year and the monthly operating cash burn was reduced to €235 million. Lufthansa Group’s cargo business reported a record first quarter profit and the Group’s airlines are prepared for a second half demand recovery by offering the largest selection of tourist destinations ever offered by the company.
In Thursday’s announcement, Deutsche Lufthansa AG’s CEO, Carsten Spohr, said,
“The longer the crisis lasts, the greater people's desire to travel again becomes. We know that bookings shoot up wherever restrictions are loosened and travel becomes possible again. Given the foreseeable major advances in vaccination rates, we expect demand to rise sharply from the summer onwards. Encouraging signals, such as the announcement by the EU Commission that it will once again allow vaccinated passengers from the USA to travel to Europe, confirm our confidence.
“By contrast, the first quarter was still completely dominated by the pandemic. Thanks to consistent cost savings, we were nevertheless able to achieve better results than in the previous year. The changes already implemented in the Group are showing effect. We will not ease in our efforts to further modernize the Lufthansa Group, to make it leaner, more efficient, and to maintain our position among the world's leading airlines.”
During the first quarter, the Group’s operating expenses were reduced 51 percent versus Q1 2020 and the number of employees fell 19 percent year-over-year to 111,262. A further headcount reduction is expected through an attractive, recently initiated, voluntary leave program for ground employees of Deutsche Lufthansa AG. The Group’s Q1 capacity was 21 percent of pre-crisis 2019 levels and seat load factor declined 33 percentage points to 45 percent versus the first quarter of 2019. During the first three months of the year, the Group’s airlines carried 3 million passengers.
Lufthansa Cargo’s sales increased 45 percent to €802 million compared to the first quarter of 2020 with an increase in freight load factor by 12 points to 76 percent. The division’s adjusted EBIT improved to €314 million compared to (€22) million during Q1 2020, the highest ever in Lufthansa Cargo’s history. The Lufthansa Group ended the first quarter with liquidity of €10.6 billion, including untapped funds from the government’s stabilization measures and loans totaling €5.4 billion. The company’s net debt increased €1.0 billion versus the close of the fourth quarter 2020 to €10.9 billion, while the company’s equity ratio increased 1.8 points compared to the end of last year, largely attributable to lower pension liabilities due to increasing interest rates.
For the full year, Lufthansa expects to offer capacity of approximately 40 percent of the pre-crisis level. In the short-term, Lufthansa Group airlines will be able to offer capacity of up to 70 percent of pre-pandemic levels to flexibly react to market changes. During the second quarter, the Group expects to further reduce their monthly operating cash burn to around €200 million.
Source: Deutsche Lufthansa AG