LATAM reported a first quarter 2022 annual revenue increase of 43.2%, to US$ 2.8bn, and a return to profit, which came to over $121 million, a swing to the black compared to Q1 2022 loss of around $380 million.
During the quarter LATAM said it "improved its liquidity and leverage position" compared to Q4 2022, a change it said was "building upon its successful emergence from Chapter 11 at the end of 2022" and represented a "solid reflection of LATAM’s more efficient cost structure following the initiatives implemented during the reorganization process".
LATAM said it decreased its adjusted leverage to 3.0x and increased its liquidity to $2.5bn by the end of March 2023.
Adjusted EBITDAR amounted to US$573 million, while the revenue surge and profit turn came "despite levels of operation not fully recovered to the pre-pandemic context, a decrease in domestic Peru operations associated with the sociopolitical unrest, and the softened cargo yields".
Adjusted operating expenses were US$2.5bn, up 23.8% year-on-year and resulting in an adjusted operating margin of 10.5% for the quarter
Consolidated operations, measured in available seat kilometers, increased 26.3% compared to Q1 2022, for the best quarter since early 2020.
Its Brazil’s domestic operations increased 19.8%, year on year, while domestic operations of LATAM affiliates in Colombia, Chile, Peru and Ecuador decreased 2.3%.