Lufthansa slashes 2024 earnings forecast after costly strikes

LUFTHANSA slashed its full-year earnings outlook for 2024 on Monday (Apr 15), blaming a series of strikes and a slower than planned ramp up of capacity, in a profit warning that sent its share price 2.4 per cent lower.

The company now expects adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (Ebit) of 2.2 billion euros this year, versus a previous forecast for stable earnings development compared to its 2.682 billion euro adjusted Ebit result in 2023, it said in a statement.

Adjusted free cash flow in 2024 is expected to be at least one billion euros, down from the previous forecast of at least 1.5 billion, it added.

Lufthansa also reported a first-quarter loss of 849 million euros, compared to a 273 million loss the previous year.

“The loss was higher than expected due to various strikes, both by different employee groups within the Group and by employees at system partners, which impacted earnings by around 350 million euros,” the statement said.

The group is set to publish final results for the first quarter on Apr 30. REUTERS