Lufthansa Group’s core business Lufthansa Airlines reported “very disappointing results” with EBIT going from a positive €866 million to a negative €116 million in 2024. The airline’s revenues were up 2%, totalling €16.6bn and operating income was also up 2% to €17.2bn. Operating expense growth outpaced and surpassed revenue and operating income at 8%, totalling €17.3bn.
Lufthansa Group reported revenues increased by 6% to €37.6bn in 2024, with traffic revenue up 5% to €31.4bn in the year. The group’s operating income was up 5% to €40.5bn, and operating expenses up 9% to €39.1bn.
The group’s net profits were down 18% to €1.4bn for the year, while EBIT was down 35% to €1.7bn. Adjusted EBIT was down from €2.7bn a year prior to €1.6bn in 2024.
“We are now able to make €1.6bn for the group without a single euro contribution from our core airline,” said Lufthansa group CEO Carsten Spohr. “10 years ago, this would have been inconceivable.”
The company initiated a turnaround programme for Lufthansa Airlines, promising to bring down costs and improve its core airline’s performance “quickly”.
Spohr added: “The success of the necessary turnaround will be driven by our ability to allocate capacity even more strategically, focusing on areas where we can deploy profitably and expect stable returns.”
The company said it will first focus on stabilising the airline’s operations followed by increased efficiency to “realise the full financial potential of the programme”.
Management on the call explained: “We have identified all necessary measures there of two thirds relating to cost improvements, the rest to revenue enhancements. By 2026, we anticipate a gross adjusted EBIT effect of approximately €1.5bn, with a further increase to €2.5bn in 2028.”
Lufthansa Airlines airline took delivery of seven A350s as part of its fleet renewal.
“To expand its capacity and in view of delays in the delivery of new long-haul aircraft, Lufthansa Airlines is reactivating its A380 fleet,” the company read in its report. As of the end of the year, the company had seven in operation. Another A380 entered into service in early 2025, bringing the total to eight.
Overall, the group expects to take delivery of 26 deliveries in 2025, which will equate to a new aircraft every two weeks, the company said. The company said it had a shortfall of 41 Boeing long haul aircraft that were supposed to be operating in 2024.
“Of these aircraft, 15 787s are still awaiting certification for the seats in Charleston, South Carolina,” said Spohr. “However, after last week’s certification test, we are now carefully optimistic that we are able to deploy these aircraft in the summer with some of the business class seats blocked.”
Management said by blocking some of the business class seats it had found a “compromise” in order to bring the aircraft into service.
“These are the only seats where there’s no certification for available yet,” said Spohr later in the call. “It would make sense for us to fly these aircraft, train our pilots and basically ramp up for eventually getting the certification for all seats.”
The company’s orderbook totals 240 aircraft, including 100 long haul aircraft.
Lufthansa said “very strong demand” on North Atlantic continues and has proven a “robust and sustained market” for the business. However, Asia has proven a difficult market to penetrate as a result of the Ukraine-Russia conflict, which resulted in reduced capacity in the market.
“We face a significant disadvantage to competitors on the long range flights towards the East who, unlike us, can use Russian airspace – saving money, fuel and travel time,” management said in the call. “We will continue to adjust our capacity according to those challenges to make sure we optimise our profits.”
The company said its complete integration of ITA Airways, which is expected to be completed in 18 months. Lufthansa finalised its acquisition of a 41% stake in the airline in January this year.
Spohr said ITA is the “clear priority” for Lufthansa with its 100 aircraft offering 12% additional capacity. He added that it is “too early to talk about anything” regarding Lufthansa’s potential interest in acquiring TAP Air and Air Europa. “The processes haven’t even started,” he added. “Nobody can do four things at a time, but there is no need to. We only have one right now called ITA.”
Air France-KLM said its own earnings call on the same day that discussions in acquiring a stake in TAP had been “positive” a week prior.
The company said it expects continued strong demand for its maintenance services for 2025. Lufthansa Technik’s revenues were up 14% to €7.4bn with an adjusted EBIT of €635 million, up 1%.
For the full year 2025, the group expects adjusted EBIT to be “significantly higher” than 2024. Net capital expenditure is expected to be between €2.7 and €3.3bn. The company’s adjusted free cash flow of €840 million in 2024 – down from €1.8bn in 2023 – is expected to continue in 2025.
The board will propose a dividend of €0.30 per share.