Lufthansa's logistics division reported rising revenues and operating profits in the third quarter of the year as capacity was added and yields were on the up.
The division, which includes Lufthansa Cargo, time:matters, Jettainer, HeyWorld and a 50% stake in AeroLogic, saw third-quarter revenues increase 16% year on year to €782m, while operating profit (ebit) reached €39m compared with €0 last year.
Cargo volumes in revenue cargo tonne km terms increased 11% year on year to 2.1bn while the cargo load factor improved by 3.4 percentage points to 59%.
The airline said it benefitted from an improvement in market conditions this year that started in the second quarter and continued into the third. In contrast, market conditions in 2023 began to weaken in the second half.
"The emerging recovery in the second quarter of 2024 continued; this development was in particular underpinned by strong e-commerce business with Asia, which also led to a shift in capacity from the Americas region to Asia/Pacific," the Lufthansa Group said.
Lufthansa Cargo also benefitted from expanded capacity, which was up 5% in the third quarter of the year. Meanwhile, in the third quarter of 2024, yields were 5.1% higher than in the
previous year.
Offsetting some of the gains in revenues, was rising operating expenses, which were up 7%, due to rising charter expenses and fees and charges due to cost increases (partly from the fleet expansion), as well as staff costs resulting from wage and salary increases under collective bargaining agreements.
Over the first nine months, revenues were up 3% to €2.3bn but ebit was down 72% due to "challenging" market conditions in the first half of the year and strike action.
During the quarter, the carrier took delivery of its 18th Boeing 777 freighter and added Shenzhen to its cargo network to meet the continued strong demand for e-commerce shipments.
On the topic of network expansion, the carrier announced earlier today that its first transatlantic service had been launched.
https://www.aircargonews.net/airlines/lufthansa-cargo-expands-into-transpacific-with-vietnam-la-flights/
https://www.aircargonews.net/people/lufthansa-cargo-chief-operations-officer-steps-down/
