Unsurprisingly, given the corona pandemic, the Lufthansa Group was also deep in the red in the first quarter of 2021. CEO Carsten Spohr is convinced that demand will rise sharply in summer 2021. However, one does not expect a “big bang”, but rather a slow and gradual increase in the number of bookings.

However, the group headed by Spohr is no longer quite so confident that half of the capacity of 2019 will be in the air. As announced on Thursday, around 40 percent of the level before the corona pandemic is now assumed. In other words: Lufthansa assumes that the recovery in demand will take much longer than previously assumed.

The adjusted EBIT was last at minus 5,45 billion euros. This is well below the value of the same period last year, but the financial effects of the corona pandemic are very clear. CEO Carsten Spohr emphasizes that the austerity programs would bear fruit.

Sales in the first quarter of 2021 were 60 percent below the same period of the previous year and are estimated at 2,56 billion euros. The bottom line is a loss of 1,05 billion euros. The adjusted EBIT could be improved from minus 1,2 billion euros to minus 1,1 billion euros. The monthly cash outflow is said to have been 235 million euros. For the second quarter of 2021, around 200 million euros per month are forecast.

Passenger business weak, freight is booming

The capacity was greatly reduced in the first quarter of 2021. The group announced that in the first three months of 2021 only around 21 percent of the output of 2021 had been offered. This is also reflected in the number of passengers, because across the group there was only around ten percent of the usual performance, i.e. around three million passengers.

The “savior in the crisis” was the freight division. This earned more money than ever and shows an operating profit of 314 million euros. That is a new record. Lufthansa Technik also got through the crisis well and made a profit of 16 million euros.

The Lufthansa Group's cash balance is said to have been 2021 billion euros at the end of March 10,6. According to the company's own statements, around 5,4 billion euros have not yet been called up from the promised state aid. A few weeks ago Lufthansa paid back around one billion euros to the Reconstruction Loan Corporation. In this context, bonds were taken out so that, strictly speaking, a debt rescheduling is carried out. At the upcoming Annual General Meeting, which will be held virtually on May 4, 2021, the shareholders want to approve a further 5,5 billion euros.

The Lufthansa figures at a glance: