Lufthansa Cargo Earns $39.7 Million Quarterly Profit

Lufthansa Cargo earned a $39.7 million profit in the last three months of 2009, although the broad global downturn left the airline with a $234.3 million loss on cargo operations for the full year.

The loss, following a $201 million profit in 2008, came after steep capacity cuts that included four of the carrier’s 19 MD-11 freighters, shrinking 2009 revenue by 33.1 percent to $2.6 billion for the year.

Lufthansa Cargo’s traffic volumes are recovering, posting a 9 percent year-on-year increase in February following an 18.6 percent rise in January.

But the carrier, insisting it must continue to cut costs to protect earnings, recently announced plans to reduce its worldwide payroll by 10 percent, or some 450 jobs.

Parent company Lufthansa today said it expects operating profit and revenue to rise in 2010 but the outcome depends on several factors, notably the development of fuel prices.

Europe’s second largest airline posted an operating profit of $177 million in 2009 against $1.8 billion in the previous year on revenues down 10 percent at $30.1 billion.