Lufthansa Wants to Pay Back State Aid after Profitable Summer

Frankfurt — German airline Lufthansa on Thursday said that a strong summer quarter shows that it has emerged well out of the pandemic.

" The Lufthansa Group has economically left the pandemic behind and is looking optimistically into the future," chief executive officer Carsten Spohr said in a statement.

The group, which in the third quarter generated an operating profit of €1.1 billion ($1.1 billion), said that it is now aiming for an operating profit of more than €1 billion in 2022 as demand for air travel remains strong.

Lufthansa said that its foreign subsidiaries Austrian and Brussels would repay the remaining part of their respective government stabilization measures by the end of the year thanks to "strong increase in demand, a good liquidity development and the financial support of the Lufthansa Group."

Net income increased significantly in the third quarter to €809 million, compared to a loss of €72 million a year earlier.

The group's revenue almost doubled compared to last year, reaching €10.1 billion in the third quarter, compared to €5.2 billion a year earlier.

The company generated an adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of €1.1 billion in the third quarter, which accounted for an impact from strikes of around €70 million.

This was the first quarter since the beginning of the pandemic that the group's passenger division returned to profitability, also due to the significant increase in ticket prices.

The freight division Lufthansa Cargo achieved another record result and is on course for a full-year result even above last year's highest ever €1.5 billion.

The maintenance division Lufthansa Technik is also expecting a record result in 2022, the carrier said.

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