Swiss turns the page on Covid-19 and returns to profit


Zurich (awp) – Swiss airline returned to profit in the first half after two years of losses following the coronavirus pandemic. The company is still targeting a return to operational profitability for the whole of 2022, despite macroeconomic uncertainties and soaring oil prices.

“The positive commercial trend already initiated during the first months of the year was further strengthened in the second quarter,” explained the subsidiary of the German group Lufthansa on Thursday in a press release.

The national carrier took advantage of strong booking demand and its restructuring efforts to improve its financial performance. The surge in prices for kerosene, a consequence of the rise in oil prices, was partially offset by an increase in the price of plane tickets. Freight also made it possible to go up the slope in terms of results.

“Thanks to the strong renewed interest in air travel, the increase in ticket prices and the improvement in cost structures, our cash position has developed positively in recent months”, underlined Chief Financial Officer Markus Binkert. .

Over the first six months of the year, Swiss thus posted a positive operating result of 67 million Swiss francs, after an operating loss of 398.2 million a year earlier. Turnover more than doubled to 1.8 billion Swiss francs and the number of passengers carried increased more than five-fold to 5.3 million.

Reinvest in product and people

Like the entire aviation sector, the Swiss airline had been severely affected by the health restrictions decreed to fight the coronavirus pandemic. In 2020, it had recorded an operating loss of 654 million Swiss francs and in 2021 a negative result of 427.7 million.

In 2019, before the outbreak of the pandemic, the company had still recorded an operating profit of 578 million Swiss francs.

Thanks to the recovery in global air traffic and restructuring measures – reduction of its fleet by around 15% and loss of hundreds of full-time jobs – Swiss expects a return to profitability for the full year. 2022, without further details.

For Dieter Vranckx, CEO of Swiss, the return to financial health allows the company to reinvest “in improving customer service and without (its) own staff, and therefore to reduce the measures of crisis”.

Lufthansa, parent company of Swiss, made a net profit of 259 million euros (253.1 million Swiss francs) in the second quarter, its first net profit since the Covid-19 pandemic. The leading European air transport group forecasts an operating result of at least 500 million euros for this year.

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