SWISS posts record profit for first nine months

SWISS, one of the subsidiaries of Lufthansa, delivered a record operating profit during a traditionally busy summer period, building on the already strong first half results.

The resulting adjusted EBIT of CHF 615.9 million – 1 Swiss franc equals approximately 1 euro – for the first nine months of 2023 is the best in the company’s history. Total sales for the first nine months amounted to CHF 4.0 billion. SWISS carried around 12.4 million passengers between January and September. The company also benefited from cost savings resulting from its restructuring in 2021. SWISS expects to report a very favorable adjusted EBIT for the whole of 2023. But with developments such as rising costs and geopolitical uncertainties, the market environment could prove more difficult ahead.

Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) benefited from high volumes of air travel in summer to display an operating result record for the third quarter of 2023, which builds on the already strong profits of the first half. Customer demand was particularly strong in the leisure travel segment. For the first nine months of 2023, SWISS generated an operating profit or adjusted EBIT of CHF 615.9 million, an improvement of approximately 114% compared to the prior-year period and the result on nine strongest month in 2023 in over 20 years of history. Total revenue for the nine-month period increased by 26.4% to CHF 4.0 billion.

“I am both proud and grateful that our SWISS team was able to achieve such a favorable operating result during the key summer months”says Markus Binkert, CFO of SWISS. “In doing so, we have further strengthened our financial base; and we have shown that after overcoming the pandemic, we can also stand on our own two feet in a longer-term perspective. » “Also in the third trimester,” Binkert continues, “We took advantage of the fact that industry-wide demand for air travel exceeded available capacity. The competitive cost structures we imposed upon ourselves during our restructuring in response to the COVID-19 pandemic also worked to our advantage. Our administrative costs, for example, are still below their pre-pandemic levels.”

While the demand for services air freight is now significantly lower than in the previous year and has returned to pre-crisis levels, SWISS’s air cargo division also made a significant contribution to the strong overall operating result for the first nine months of 2023.

SWISS flight operations faced particularly difficult conditions during the busiest summer months due to various external factors such as strikesunfavorable weather conditions and lack of staff among partner companies. But thanks to careful planning and the considerable efforts of all SWISS staff, around 99% of all SWISS flights were able to be carried out as announced.

SWISS is currently seeing a normalization of its performance levels. At the same time, the airline sector is facing rising costs, particularly energy costs. As a result, the market environment is expected to become more difficult in the medium term. But SWISS nevertheless expects a very favorable operating result for the full year 2023.