Air France-KLM announced yesterday a quarterly profit exceeding expectations, carried by a increase in the number of passengers while the situation has improved at airports.
In the second quarter of 2023, Air France-KLM’s revenue increased by 13.7% over one year, and by 14.1% at constant exchange rates, to reach 7.62 billion euros. Operating profit was 733 million euros, well above the 663 million euros expected by analysts. Net profit in the second quarter almost doubled, amounting to 604 million euros against 324 million euros a year earlier.
The Franco-Dutch airline group, which carried 24.7 million passengers in the April-June period, said second-quarter capacity was 92% of 2019 levels, and confirmed its capacity forecast for the whole year, around 95%. Finally, the group generated adjusted free operating cash flow of 557 million euros. It has reduced its net debt by 1.4 billion euros compared to the end of 2022, debt which now stands at 4.9 billion euros at the end of June.
Since last year, strikes and staff shortages have forced European airlines to cancel thousands of flights to avoid massive queues at airports. “I am very happy to see that the situation at airports is much better this summer, including Amsterdam Schiphol Airport“, said Benjamin Smith, the general manager of the airline group. He said this summer season would serve as a test before 2024 and the Paris Olympics, which are expected to attract large numbers of visitors.
