Lufthansa Group Posts Heavy Losses in Q1 Due to Covid-19

The travel restrictions imposed due to the global spread of the coronavirus have significantly impacted the Lufthansa Group’s earnings development in the first quarter of 2020, Deutsche Lufthansa AG said on Wednesday.

According to the company’s Q1 financial report, group revenue in the first quarter fell by 18 percent to 6.4 billion euros (previous year: 7.8 billion euros), adjusted EBIT amounted to minus 1.2 billion euros in the first quarter of 2020 (prior year: minus EUR 336 million), and net profit amounted to minus 2.1 billion euros.

“Global air traffic has come to a virtual standstill in recent months. This has impacted our quarterly results to an unprecedented extent. In view of the very slow recovery in demand, we must now take far-reaching restructuring measures to counteract this,” said Carsten Spohr, Chairman of the Executive Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG.

Regarding traffic development, in total, the airlines in the Lufthansa Group carried 21.8 million passengers in the first three months of the year, around a quarter less than in the same quarter last year (- 26.1 percent). Freight capacity on offer fell by 15 percent.

In April, the Lufthansa Group airlines recorded a 98.1 percent year-on-year decline in passenger numbers to 241,000. Supply fell by 96.0 percent.

It is reminded that the supervisory board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG recently voted to accept the 9-billion-euro rescue package for Lufthansa airline offered by Germany’s Economic Stabilisation Fund (WSF), thereby accepting conditions set by the European Commission.