Lufthansa's operating profit fell by more than a third in 2024, the airline said today, capping a difficult year in which spiralling costs, restricted access to Russian airspace, and aircraft delivery delays hit profitability.
European airlines struggled last year as inflation drove costs higher despite sustained strong demand, with shares dropping for most of the main carriers on the continent.
The inability to fly over Russia, due to sanctions, also hit carriers' key routes to Asia.
Lufthansa had initially targeted an operating margin of 8% last year.
After issuing two profit warnings in the first half of the year, the group said it reached a much lower 4.4% figure, partly attributable to costly strikes and lower-than-usual yields due to an industry-wide increase in capacity.
"Looking back, 2024 was a year of two halves for the Lufthansa Group. In the first six months, we still had to cope with a significant decline in operating profit," chief executive Carsten Spohr said in a statement.
But the airline managed to bounce back in the second half of the year, with a particularly strong fourth quarter, Spohr said.
Lufthansa reported adjusted earnings before interest and taxes of €1.65 billion in 2024, slightly above the €1.59 billion estimated by analysts polled by LSEG, but down from €2.68 billion in 2023.
Lufthansa has vowed to turn around its core airline, which posted an operating loss of €94m, weighing on overall results.
It said the restructuring programme at Lufthansa Airlines was expected to make a gross profit contribution of around €2.5 billion by 2028.
Referring to 2025 as a "year of transition", during which the cost-saving measures would not yet take full effect, the company said it nonetheless expected "significantly higher" operating profit this year.
The group's newer City Airlines carrier was being deployed effectively for short-haul travel around Europe, the company said.
Lufthansa expects demand for air travel to remain high, as signalled by a positive trend in bookings at the start of 2025.
