LUFTHANSA's logistics business was unable to make an operating profit in the third quarter of the year as the market normalized following the Covid pandemic.
The logistics division, which includes Lufthansa Cargo, time:matters, Jettainer, HeyWorld and a 50 per cent stake in AeroLogic, saw third-quarter earnings before interest and tax (ebit) fall to zero Euro compared with a profit of EUR330 million a year earlier.
It is the first time since the first quarter of 2020 that the carrier has failed to report an EBIT profit, although the third quarter does tend to be one of the weaker times of year for the air cargo industry, according to London's Air Cargo News.
For comparison, in the third quarter of pre-covid 2019, the carrier reported a cargo EBIT loss of EUR49 million.
Meanwhile, third-quarter cargo traffic was up 5 per cent to 1.9 billion revenue tonne kms, revenues declined 41 per cent to EUR675 million and the cargo load factor slipped 0.8 percentage points to 55.6 per cent.
Like many carriers with a passenger fleet, the airline has seen cargo revenues decline in line with a drop off in rates this year while volumes have increased as passenger operations - and therefore bellyhold operations - have been getting back underway.
Cargo capacity for the period was up 7 per cent in the third quarter to 3.4 billion available cargo tonne kms.
The airline group said that its cargo business was impacted by weak demand in the global air cargo market in a seasonally weak quarter.
It added that the stabilization of cargo yields and volumes indicates a bottoming out of the market.
The airline said of performance over the first nine months: 'The operating performance in the logistics business segment returned to normal in the reporting period compared with the record levels seen in the previous year.'
It added: 'Yields fell in all of Lufthansa Cargo's traffic areas and were 41 per cent down on the previous year, although they were 45.6 per cent above the 2019 pre-crisis level.'
'Operating expenses decreased by 9 per cent to EUR2.1 billion (previous year: EUR2.3billion); reduced charter expenses, lower fuel expenses and efficiency-boosting and cost reduction measures largely compensated for inflation effects.'
Lufthansa is not the only airline to have seen its cargo performance come under pressure this year due to lower rates.
Air Canada and IAG have also reported declining cargo revenues in the third quarter of the year, although they do not provide operating profit figures for cargo.
SeaNews Turkey
The logistics division, which includes Lufthansa Cargo, time:matters, Jettainer, HeyWorld and a 50 per cent stake in AeroLogic, saw third-quarter earnings before interest and tax (ebit) fall to zero Euro compared with a profit of EUR330 million a year earlier.
It is the first time since the first quarter of 2020 that the carrier has failed to report an EBIT profit, although the third quarter does tend to be one of the weaker times of year for the air cargo industry, according to London's Air Cargo News.
For comparison, in the third quarter of pre-covid 2019, the carrier reported a cargo EBIT loss of EUR49 million.
Meanwhile, third-quarter cargo traffic was up 5 per cent to 1.9 billion revenue tonne kms, revenues declined 41 per cent to EUR675 million and the cargo load factor slipped 0.8 percentage points to 55.6 per cent.
Like many carriers with a passenger fleet, the airline has seen cargo revenues decline in line with a drop off in rates this year while volumes have increased as passenger operations - and therefore bellyhold operations - have been getting back underway.
Cargo capacity for the period was up 7 per cent in the third quarter to 3.4 billion available cargo tonne kms.
The airline group said that its cargo business was impacted by weak demand in the global air cargo market in a seasonally weak quarter.
It added that the stabilization of cargo yields and volumes indicates a bottoming out of the market.
The airline said of performance over the first nine months: 'The operating performance in the logistics business segment returned to normal in the reporting period compared with the record levels seen in the previous year.'
It added: 'Yields fell in all of Lufthansa Cargo's traffic areas and were 41 per cent down on the previous year, although they were 45.6 per cent above the 2019 pre-crisis level.'
'Operating expenses decreased by 9 per cent to EUR2.1 billion (previous year: EUR2.3billion); reduced charter expenses, lower fuel expenses and efficiency-boosting and cost reduction measures largely compensated for inflation effects.'
Lufthansa is not the only airline to have seen its cargo performance come under pressure this year due to lower rates.
Air Canada and IAG have also reported declining cargo revenues in the third quarter of the year, although they do not provide operating profit figures for cargo.
SeaNews Turkey
