Operational profits of Lufthansa decline by quarter in Q2

Operational profits (EBIT) of Lufthansa in the second quarter of 2019 declined by about a quarter year-on-year to a total of 754 million euros, Germany's largest airline announced on Tuesday.

"Our earnings are feeling the effects of tough competition in Europe and sizeable overcapacities, especially on our short-haul routes out of Germany and Austria," said Ulrik Svensson, chief financial officer (CFO) of Lufthansa.

Increasing expenditures for fuel as well as maintenance and repair would have also burdened the results of Lufthansa. In Q2 2019, the German airline spent 255 million euros more on kerosene than in the previous year.

Revenues of Lufthansa increased by 4 percent to 9.6 billion euros in Q2 while the company's EBIT margin stood at 7.8 percent, 3 percent lower than in the same period last year.

In the whole first half of 2019 (H1), Lufthansa recorded a slight increase in revenues of 3 percent to 17.5 billion euros. Lufthansa had profited from "continued strong long-haul business" especially on its key North American and Asian routes.

Net losses of Lufthansa in H1 amounted to 116 million euros, after profits of 713 million euros in the same period last year. These losses would have also been negatively affected by provisions amounting to 340 million euros made after a "revaluation of a tax risk" in Germany, according to the airline.

Despite a slightly increased seat load factor and a higher capacity, operational profits of Eurowings, Lufthansa's budget subsidiary, stood at minus 273 million euros in H1, marking a decline of more than 50 million euros compared to the same period last year.

Flight cancellations of Eurowings' aircrafts were down 23 percent while punctuality was improved by 7 percentage points in H1, according to Lufthansa. Eurowings would have been "one of Europe's most punctual airlines" in H1, the German airline stated.

Lufthansa is planning to "further reduce" its costs as well as to increase its "flexibility", said Lufthansa CFO Svensson.

The German airline confirmed its outlook for the second half of 2019 and is expecting turnover to grow in "a low single-digit percentage" range and is aiming for an EBIT margin between 5.5 and 6.5 percent.

"Persistent overcapacities, aggressive competition and increasingly price-sensitive demand" would continue to pressure yields on Lufthansa's European flight routes and the European market would "remain challenging until at least the end of this year", according to Lufthansa.

Following the publication of Lufthansa's Q2 results on Tuesday, shares of Lufthansa lost more than 6 percent and were among the biggest losers in the German stock index DAX.