(Statements from conference call on engine recall, Ita takeover, ticket price development, updated share price reaction)

FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Lufthansa has put the Corona crisis behind it economically this summer. With 1.5 billion euros in operating profit (adjusted Ebit), the MDax group reached earlier spheres and the second-best quarter in its history in the period from July to September inclusive, the airline announced in Frankfurt on Thursday. But flying remains expensive, CEO Carsten Spohr warned customers in view of an uncertain global situation, scarce aircraft, limited handling capacity and expensive jet fuel.

The news was well received on the stock market: Lufthansa shares were up eight and a half percent at times. In the afternoon, it was the second-strongest gainer in the MDax, the index of mid-sized stocks, with an increase of a good seven and a half percent to 7.073 euros. Nevertheless, the stock was still trading around nine percent cheaper than at the turn of the year.

"Ticket prices remain high - as do other prices," Spohr said after strong bookings for the current final quarter. In the third quarter of 2023, Lufthansa fetched an average of 25 percent more for each ticket than in the summer of 2019. Things are expected to continue in the same big order in the coming year. Only around the bankruptcy of Air Berlin in 2017, when the largest domestic competitor was eliminated at short notice, Lufthansa had earned more in the day-to-day business.

In the third quarter of 2023, the Group increased its revenue by eight percent year-on-year to a record level of just under 10.3 billion euros. Below the line, Lufthansa earned just under 1.2 billion euros, almost one and a half times as much as a year earlier. The number of passengers climbed from 33 million to 38 million during the year.

However, because of the sharp rise in jet fuel costs, the Executive Board did not dare to raise its forecast for annual operating profit of at least 2.6 billion euros again. The Frankfurt-based company had only earned more in 2017 and 2018. However, analysts expect only slight profit increases in the coming years.

Further uncertainties lie in the geopolitical situation, although the current crisis in the Middle East has only led to a brief decline in bookings at the Lufthansa Group. Demand continues to be driven by private travelers with Christmas as the next peak. "From mid-December, it will be tight on board again," Spohr predicted. For the coming year, management also anticipates stronger demand again from business travelers, especially to Asia.

According to Spohr, the Group wants to make itself less dependent on the German domestic market, which currently only accounts for a quarter of revenue. This strategy also includes the planned acquisition of a stake in the Italian state airline Ita, which is the subject of constructive talks with the EU Commission. There, it is increasingly understood that in aviation, as in armaments or energy, care must be taken to keep European companies competitive on a global scale, Spohr said.

Like the entire industry, Lufthansa is still struggling with the consequences of the Corona crisis in its daily operations. Its German hubs are still not as efficient as they were before the pandemic, so Lufthansa will only be able to increase its service to 95 percent of pre-crisis levels next year. In 2023, it aims to land at 85 percent.

Delivery of new jets from Boeing and Airbus is delayed, so the new business cabin on long-haul routes is now not scheduled to arrive until summer 2024. From next year, 64 medium-haul Airbus aircraft already in service will also have to undergo months of maintenance because engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney has recalled the engines due to material defects.

Spohr expressed optimism that he would be able to compensate for the loss of an average of 20 aircraft per day, but one thing is as clear as day for him: "Overcapacities are out of the question in the next few years." In addition to compensation payments from Pratt & Whitney, the Group is relying on the capabilities of its maintenance subsidiary Lufthansa Technik, which has also been able to earn a lot of money as a contractor for other airlines during the crisis, with 3,000 engines affected worldwide.

In the current year, the Hamburg-based company is already heading for a record operating profit above last year's figure of 554 million euros. All the Group's airlines are also contributing to the result, in some cases with record figures - even the German direct flight subsidiary Eurowings is in the black after nine months thanks to a strong vacation season./stw/ceb/DP/nas