Increased international demand boosted LATAM Airlines Group’s second quarter results as the Santiago-based company posted a profit of $145 million.
LATAM said on 7 August that, adjusted for foreign exchange losses, the company earned $105 million, down 26% from last year’s adjusted profit. Revenue rose 13% to $3 billion, with passenger operations rising 14.3%, and a 6.9% increase in cargo revenue. Capacity rose 16% during the second quarter, while system-wide load factor rose 1.8 percentage points to 82.2%.
Expenses also rose, to $2.8 billion, up 14.6% from last year, with fuel costs increasing 16.7%.
“Market shares have increased in all regions compared with the previous quarter,” the company says. “Though it is not LATAM group’s main focus, we believe it to be a reflection of the group’s unique value proposition and continued customer preference. Particularly notable is the South American regional market, in which LATAM group has a solid 42%.”
During the second quarter of 2024, LATAM Group transported 19.1 million passengers, 11.7% more than during the same three months of 2023. In the previous 12 months, the airline says it transported 79 million passengers, the first time in its history that it reached this figure.
At the end of the three months that ended on 30 June, the company had 340 aircraft in its operating fleet - 262 Airbus narrowbody aircraft, 57 Boeing widebody aircraft and 21 Boeing cargo freighters. The airline group took delivery of five Airbus A321neo aircraft. By the end of this year, the company expects to have 346 aircraft.
For the full year 2024, the company says it will increase capacity by 14-16%, with international capacity to rise 18-20%. Full-year revenue is expected to come in around $12.8 billion to $13.1 billion.
Earlier this week, the company said it will invest $2 billion in Brazil in the next two years. LATAM operates under separate operator certificates in Brazil, Chile, Colombia Peru and Ecuador. It connects Chile and Brazil with eight routes and 100 flights per week. At the end of the first quarter, the carrier said LATAM Airlines Brasil reached a 39% market share in that country.
