Despite soaring jet fuel prices, Lufthansa's net profit jumps 30% in third quarter

The German air transport giant Lufthansa said on Tuesday that it anticipates a significant increase in its kerosene bill for the year 2026 due to the conflict in the Middle East, leading it to tighten its annual forecasts, despite a 30% increase in its net profit in the third quarter. “Due to an unchanged geopolitical situation, our planned fuel bill for the whole year now amounts to 9.3 billion euros”, or 2 billion more than in 2025, Lufthansa financial director Till Streichert said in a press release. This estimate was increased by 600 million compared to that made in the previous quarter, the group said.

A drop in forecasts despite good results Taking into account these costs, the group, whose main brand is Lufthansa but which owns many other companies such as Swiss, Austrian Airlines or Eurowings, is now counting on an operating profit (EBIT) of between 1.7 and 2 billion euros in 2026, compared to a range of 1.7 to 2.2 billion previously. “The exact position of this range will depend not only on fuel costs and demand, but also and above all on the results of Lufthansa Cargo (its freight subsidiary, editor's note) in the fourth quarter,” explained Till Streichert. From July to September, the Frankfurt group, however, managed to absorb an increase of more than half a billion euros in its energy bill thanks to strong demand for flights and the control of its other costs.

“Demand was supported in particular by premium tickets and routes to Asia and North America,” according to Lufthansa. The group recorded a record turnover of 12.2 billion euros over the period, an increase of 9%, while its net profit increased by 30% to 1.26 billion euros. This increase reflects the good operational performance of the company, but also positive valuation effects and the absence of an unfavorable tax impact which weighed on the comparable period last year.

Machine-translated from French