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Portugal‘s flag carrier TAP said on August 30 that it swung to a net profit of 23 million euros (USD 25 million) in the first half of 2023 on strong revenue growth, boosted by booming tourism, and forecast a strong performance for the remainder of the year.
The unlisted state-owned airline, which the government plans to partially privatise, was 202 million euros in the red in the same period of 2022.
It said its operating revenue jumped 44% to 1.9 billion euros from a year earlier, driven by increased fares and higher capacity as demand for travel returned in force after the lifting of Covid restrictions.
TAP’s recurring earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) jumped 57% to 361.7 million euros and its EBITDA margin – a measure of profitability – rose to 19% from 17.4% a year ago.
Qantas reported an annual underlying profit before tax of A$2.47 billion (USD 1.60 billion) for the fiscal year ended June 30, swinging from a loss of A$1.86 billion a year ago and its first full year statutory profit since 2019. Air New Zealand also signalled brisk customer demand for financial year 2024, after posting a large annual profit, helped by a rebound in travel.
Chief Executive Officer Luis Rodrigues said the results showed the company’s sustained trend of commercial and financial improvement and that “the operating margins and deleveraging path, above the targets of the restructuring plan, prove the group’s financial sustainability”. He noted that demand was still strong, with bookings for the coming quarters reaching “considerable levels, which indicates an intense second half of the year, for which TAP will be prepared”.
The airline, which is undergoing a restructuring under a Brussels-approved 3.2 billion-euro rescue plan, has previously said it carried 7.58 million passengers between January and June, a 30% increase from a year ago but still slightly below pre-pandemic levels.
The government wants to kick off the sale process for the company by October, but intends to keep a strategic stake. At least three major global carriers – IAG, Lufthansa , and Air France-KLM – have so far shown interest in TAP.
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