By Giulia Petroni
Deutsche Lufthansa AG on Thursday said that it swung to a profit in the third quarter with all business segments contributing positively, and confirmed its full-year outlook as it expects demand for air travel to remain strong.
The German carrier posted a net profit of 809 million euros ($810.9 million) compared with a loss of EUR72 million in the year-earlier period.
It confirmed that adjusted earnings before interest and taxes jumped to EUR1.13 billion from EUR251 million, while revenue climbed to EUR10.01 billion, as announced in preliminary figures.
“The Lufthansa group has economically left the pandemic behind and is looking optimistically into the future,” said Chief Executive Officer Carsten Spohr. “Demand for air travel continues unabated.”
More than 33 million passengers flew with the group’s airlines in the July-September period, compared with 20 million in the year earlier, the company said.
In the fourth quarter, Lufthansa said it expects to achieve an operating profit despite the usual seasonal slowdown. It also confirmed it targets adjusted EBIT of more than EUR1 billion and adjusted free cash flow of more than EUR2 billion in 2022.
The carrier said all government stabilization measures will end prematurely at the end of the year as both Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines will repay ahead of schedule.
Write to Giulia Petroni at giulia.petroni@wsj.com
