Profit down 98.3% year-on-year
Portugal’s ‘flag carrier airline’ TAP (long destined for reprivatisation) ended the first half this year with a positive net profit of €400,000 – down from €22.9 million in the first half of 2023, and only possible thanks to the €72.2 million achieved between April and June, writes Lusa.
In a statement, the national airline explains that it made a profit of €72.2 million in the second quarter and that this positive net result allowed it to close the first six months of the year with a profit of €400,000.
When compared to the same period in 2023, profit for the first six months of the year is 98.3% below the €22.9 million achieved between January and June last year.
The same analysis of quarterly results shows that, despite its positive results, TAP suffered a drop of 10.1% between the €80.3 million achieved in the second quarter of 2023 and the €72.2 million in the second quarter of 2024.
For TAP, this decrease of €8.1 million is explained “by exchange losses following the devaluation of the Brazilian Real, offsetting operating gains“.
“However, when compared to the second quarter of 2019, it improved by €77.6 million,” the airline points out.
According to the company, operating revenues in the first half of 2024 reached €1.969 billion – 3.3% more than in the same period of 2023 – “driven, in ticket revenues, by an increase in capacity (+2.9%) and better load factor (+0.8 p.p.), and by a relevant increase in activity in Maintenance and Engineering revenues (+36.7%)”.
On the other hand, recurring operating costs also increased, in this case by 2.7%, reaching €1.829 billion.
“As of June 30, 2024, the Group had a strong liquidity position of €1.175.7 billion, an increase of €386.3 million compared to the end of 2023,” said the company.
In the first six months of this year, TAP carried 7,698,000 passengers – 1.6% more than in the same period of 2023.
In relation to the months between April and June, there were 4,165,000 passengers – 96,000 more people than in the second quarter of 2023.
The company says that in the second quarter five destinations from Lisbon were reopened for the summer season: Ibiza, Alicante, Palma de Mallorca, Menorca and Agadir – and a new route was opened, from Lisbon to Caracas (Venezuela), with a return through Funchal, also for the summer season.
Quoted in the statement, TAP’s chief executive Luís Rodrigues points out that, in the second quarter of 2024, the company continues “the necessary path of structural transformation“, with “investment in people and operations” to “confirm the business and show results”.
“The strong performance in the second quarter allows for a positive net result in the first half of the year, which, despite being reduced, is achieved for the second consecutive time, but now without salary cuts“, he stressed.
All this being said, the airline is meant to be ‘up for sale’. A sale was ‘imminent’ during the last government – but since then talk of it has faded from the media spotlight.
Source material: LUSA
