Lufthansa sees earnings boost from strong summer travel

Sees strong demand for summer travel
Confirms 2023 outlook
Q1 adj EBIT loss 273 mln euros, in line with consensus
Q1 revenues up 40% at 7.02 bln euros

FRANKFURT, May 3 (Reuters) – German airline group Deutsche Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) said it expected strong demand for holiday travel this summer to fill seats on its planes and help it reach its full-year targets.

“The continuously strong demand gives us confidence for the coming months,” finance chief Remco Steenbergen said on Wednesday.

Lufthansa said it still expects to post a significant year-on-year improvement in adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) for the full year 2023.

For the first quarter, it posted an adjusted EBIT loss of 273 million euros ($300.96 million), improved from a 577 million loss in the year-earlier period and broadly in line with analyst consensus for 279 million.

Revenues jumped 40% to 7.02 billion euros in the three months through March, though the figure fell short of consensus for 7.57 billion.

($1=0.9071 euros)

Reporting by Maria Sheahan, Editing by Friederike Heine

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