Portugal's airline TAP said its first-quarter loss narrowed 63% from a year ago to €39.9 million on higher revenue, but warned that rising jet fuel prices due to the Iran conflict will weigh in coming quarters.
The flag carrier, which is being partially privatised, said the expected impact of jet fuel prices should be somewhat mitigated by capacity management, cost controls and pricing adjustments through a fuel surcharge.
Revenue rose 11% to €914 million, driven mainly by a 10% increase in passenger revenue to €810 million and a 32% jump in aircraft maintenance revenue, alongside capacity growth.
Passenger numbers rose 6.4% to 3.7 million and load factor improved 4.8 percentage points to 83.5%, driven by South and North American markets.
EBITDA reached €92 million in the first quarter, reversing a negative €9.5 million a year earlier.
Operating costs remained broadly stable at around €954 million, with jet fuel costs still down 16% to €196 million in the quarter, but staff costs rising 9% to €252 million.
