Lufthansa 2024 profits dive amid strikes, rising costs

FILE PHOTO: Lufthansa planes are seen parked at Frankfurt Airport, Germany, June 25, 2020. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo

Frankfurt, Germany — German airline giant Lufthansa said Thursday its 2024 profits dived during a turbulent year marked by strikes, rising costs and delayed aircraft deliveries, as a post-pandemic rebound petered out.

The group reported a net profit of 1.38 billion euros ($1.49 billion), down 18 percent from 2023. Revenues came in at 37.6 billion euros, an increase of six percent from the previous year.

“Strikes weighed on the passenger airlines”, Lufthansa said in a statement.

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It also pointed to problems caused by “significantly higher costs, especially in Germany” as well as “further delays in aircraft deliveries”.

The result was nevertheless better than a forecast of just over one billion euros by analysts surveyed by financial data firm FactSet.

The lower profits came after a two-year streak of improving earnings for one of Europe’s biggest aviation groups, whose carriers include Lufthansa, Eurowings, Austrian, Swiss and Brussels Airlines.

Like other airline groups, Lufthansa was hit hard when the coronavirus shut down global air travel and it had to be bailed out by the German government in 2020.

It recorded two years of losses before flying strongly back into profit as demand roared back when lockdowns were lifted.