Despite higher revenues compared to last year, KLM Group faced an operating loss of €31 million in the first half of 2024.
High costs have significantly impacted results, prompting the need for action. KLM plans to critically evaluate investments, cost-saving measures, and revenue-generating opportunities.
According to the airline group, new initiatives will be announced after the summer.
Marjan Rintel, KLM CEO, commented on the half year performance result. “Our results didn’t meet expectations due to escalating costs. While operations stabilized, we couldn’t fully utilize our capacity or deploy our fleet.”
“We’re short on pilots and engineering staff, and face long waits for spare parts. Moving forward, we’ll focus on controlling costs and boosting financial performance. We’ll soon unveil company-wide measures. It’s a tough message, but crucial for KLM’s future.”
Bas Brouns, KLM CFO, added further comment. “We’re flying more than last year, but costs are outpacing revenues. It’s disappointing. We must improve our margins. We’re already working on efficiency, revenue growth, and cost-cutting initiatives.”
“We’ll speed up and expand these efforts. This includes postponing plans for KLM’s new headquarters and scrutinizing other investments. We’ll also continue to slow the growth of indirect staff.”
Financial Overview
The first half of 2024 saw an operational loss of €31 million, contrasting with a €129 million profit in the same period last year.
Revenues reached €6 billion, up from €5.6 billion in 2023’s first half. KLM served nearly 16 million passengers during this time.
The second quarter saw more stable operations and fewer disruptions for customers, thanks to operational measures like spare fleet availability and increased staffing across departments.
In Q2 2024, KLM Group reported operational results of €260 million on €3.2 billion in revenue. However, high costs led to lower-than-expected results.
Divisional Performance
Engineering & Maintenance continued its recruitment drive, welcoming many new technicians. First-half revenues exceeded those of the same period in 2023.
Cargo saw increased demand, supporting revenue and earnings recovery. However, global supply chain issues still pose challenges.
To further stabilize the network, more reserve capacity was added, reducing fleet deployment.
Transavia also recorded higher first-half revenues. Despite challenging conditions, Transavia provided affordable travel options for holidaymakers, achieving positive Q2 results.
In total, nearly 4.5 million passengers flew with Transavia in the first six months of 2024.
Click the banner to subscribe to our weekly newsleter.
Click the photo to join our WhatsApp channel so then you can stay up to date with everything going on in the aviation industry!
