Driven by strong demand and continuing high yields at Lufthansa Cargo – the Group’s Logistics business segment raised its nine-month adjusted EBIT 56.1 per cent to €153 million.
The LSG Group also posted a much-improved adjusted EBIT for the period of €99 million, a 50 per cent increase that it said was especially achieved through lower transformation costs.
Lufthansa Group as a whole achieved an adjusted EBIT of €2.4 billion for the first nine months of 2018 – a 7.7 per cent decline on the prior-year period which is primarily attributable to the integration costs at Eurowings.
Adjusted EBIT margin for the period amounted to 8.8 per cent. Nine-month results were also burdened by a €536 million rise in fuel costs, an increase in the costs incurred in connection with flight delays and cancellations, and higher maintenance expenses.
Deutsche Lufthansa chairman of the executive board and chief executive officer, Carsten Spohr said: “We expect to see our full-year costs increase by more than EUR 1 billion in 2018 due to fuel costs and the extra expenses incurred from delays and cancellations alone.
“But despite this, we achieved an Adjusted EBIT of EUR 2.4 billion for the first three quarters of this year, the second-best nine-month result in our history.
“And had it not been for the losses at Eurowings, we would have posted another record earnings result. This is a clear testament to our sustainable financial strength – a strength that we have demonstrated even under challenging conditions this year.”
